At 2/8 Council, there is a Staff recommendation to approve an application, which if successful, would permit all retail businesses in King Township, at their discretion, to remain open on the 9 statutory holidays. As reviewed in the recommendation the latter is now forbidden under the Retail Business Holiday Act; what is proposed is to apply for a Tourism Exemption. On a personal level I regret that our society has moved to a 24/7 mentality but it has. (To clarify…the recommendation is not about moving to 2 hour access; but I see it as being part of the same trend.) I can appreciate that it is a competitive disadvantage for some to be closed on these statutory days and for sure I can see that it is a missed opportunity for some business as there is flow through traffic on these days.
I applaud the Chamber of Commerce bringing this forward; if the municipality makes the application, the individual businesses who are interested do not need to spend the effort and expense of applying individually. The cost is minimal for the Township.
While I appreciate the competitive advantage of several businesses being allowed to open on a statutory holiday, will employees who would like to be with family or present for special events be assured of the day off if they so choose? Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter are three days in particular when many families gather together. While all around us retail stores are opening for more and more days and hours, however, is something valuable and vital lost in the process? We all need healthy balance in our lives and families need significant times together.
Each employee and employer will need to figure the scheduling out.