|
From CatholicInsight.com Culture The City of Toronto’s website is conducting a survey on whether the city should allow stores to be open for all holidays. This recurring issue was brought to city council’s attention and discussion in May 2010 (see C.I., June 2010, p.23, C.I. on-line)
By keeping stores open on holidays, the city hopes to make a profit. This will, however, affect many store owners and employees who will be pressured to work on these days and keep them from spending time with their families. This takes us a few giant steps backwards when it comes to workers’ rights. Workers fought for over a century, from 1830 till the 1930s to have time off for certain holidays. Further, a push for keeping stores open on these days diminishes the sanctity of religious holydays and makes it difficult, if not impossible for retail workers to attend religious services with their families.
Currently, there still remain nine designated public holidays when retail outlets are supposed to be closed. These include Ontario’s Family Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Canada Day, Ontario Civic holiday, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. In a few parts of Toronto such as the Eaton Centre and the Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area, stores remain open on these holidays presumably to facilitate tourists. The time has come to close these tourists centres down.
We are given the opportunity to vote “No” to have stores open on holidays. After the survey is completed,it will be put into a report and given to the City’s Economic Development Committee in the spring of this year.
To fill out this survey, go to www.toronto.ca and click on “Doing Business.” The first option will be the “Retail holiday shopping consultations.” From there, click on “Take the survey.”
Please vote against this recommendation. We are calling on all pro-life supporters to do so, for God and our country.
If Toronto caves in, so will Ontario and the rest of Canada. © Copyright 2003-2010 by CatholicInsight.com |