🚀 go-pugleaf

As a committed socialist, I don't often talk in glowing terms about the
power of the marketplace. However, opening hours is one area in which the
marketplace generally does do the right thing.

As an example, in Vancouver the supermarket chains decided to defy the
closing bylaw, opening from 8am to midnight. After a few weeks, it became
clear when the peak hours are, and, depending upon the locale, various
stores adjusted their hours to match demand. Thus, in my neighbourhood, the
Super-Valu and Safeway stores across the street from each other set their
hours at 8am to 10pm, while some stores went back to 6pm closing, and others
stay open till midnight.

(BTW, the weirdest arrangement I ever saw was in Boston in the 70s. Some
supermarket chains were open 24 hours a day 6 days a week, but because of a
Massachusetts law, they had to close on Sundays. Bars could stay open all
day on Sunday.)

What worries me about this debate is that it pits convenience for the shopper
against protection of employees. If Sunday shopping is approved (and,
whether it is approved by the Supreme Court or by voter pressure, it will be
approved), the battle is lost and employees are screwed (at least, according
to Ian Scott). The obvious thing for the govt of Ontario to do is to forget
about these silly closing laws and get on with changing the provincial
Labour Code in order to ensure that employees are protected against working
on Sundays.