Sunday shopping
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sunday shopping refers to the ability of retailers to operate stores on Sunday, a day that Christian tradition typically recognizes as the Sabbath, a "day of rest". Rules governing shopping hours, such as Sunday shopping, vary around the world but some European nations continue to ban Sunday shopping.
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[edit] Australia
The situation in Australia is not uniform, as each of its States and Territories has its own different laws. Historically, shops closed for the weekend on Saturday afternoons, with South Australia being the first state to allow Saturday afternoon opening. Most states now allow Sunday opening for up to seven hours a week, at least in metropolitan areas.
In Western Australia, voters were asked in a referendum held in February 2005: "Do you believe that the Western Australian community would benefit if trading hours in the Perth Metropolitan Area were extended to allow general retail shops to trade for 6 hours on Sunday?" This proposal was rejected by 59.56 per cent to 37.46 per cent. [1]
In the state of Victoria shopping is allowed at any time, except for ANZAC Day morning, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Christmas Day. Victoria is also famous for first introducing round the clock 36 hour shopping before Christmas, even if this fell on a Sunday. In Victoria Boxing Day is also one of the busiest days of the shopping year, and many stores are opened extended hours even if it falls on a Sunday.
[edit] Belgium
Belgium has practically no trading on a Sunday. On certain Sundays throughout the year trading is allowed, although this typically only takes place in places with high tourism.
[edit] Canada
In 1982, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the Lord's Day Act. However, at that time, only the Canadian Bill of Rights existed. That document only protected existing Canadian rights. As a result, the Court noted that Canada was an overwhelmingly Christian country that had accepted Sunday closing laws for years. The Court determined that the Lord's Day Act did not force people to practise Christianity or stop practising their own religion.
However, later that year, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was introduced, ensuring freedom of conscience and religion, regardless of existing federal or provincial laws. On April 24, 1985 - the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Lord's Day Act violated Canadians' freedom of religion. The 1985 ruling examined the original purpose of the act. It found that the Christian value of keeping the Sabbath holy had been incorporated into a law that affected all Canadians, Christian or not. This law -- the Lord's Day Act -- prevented non-Christians from performing otherwise legal activities on Sundays. This was inconsistent with the Canadian charter.
[edit] Nova Scotia
Until October 4th, 2006, Nova Scotia was the only Canadian province that still prohibited Sunday shopping. An experiment with the practice was held in 2003, and in 2004 a binding plebiscite followed. Results from the plebiscite were 45% in favour of Sunday shopping and 55% voting against it. Nova Scotia's Retail Business Uniform Closing Day Act allowed some stores, such as video rental outlets and book stores, to open on Sundays, but department stores had to remain closed.
By mid-2006, several supermarkets in Nova Scotia - including Pete's Frootique and, larger chains Atlantic Superstore and Sobeys - had gotten around the law by reconfiguring their stores on Sundays into separate businesses, each of which was small enough to be exempt from the Sunday shopping regulations. For example, a Halifax-area Sobeys location was known as the "Sobeys Queen Street Mall", housing Sobeys Retail Fish Store Ltd., Sobeys Fruit Stand Ltd., Sobeys Bakery and Bulk Food Ltd. and eight other "businesses".
On June 23, 2006, the Premier of Nova Scotia, Rodney MacDonald, announced new limits on Sunday shopping. The proposed new regulations, prohibited grocery retailers from opening if they reconfigured their businesses as separate operating units after June 1, 2006. The premier also announced that he would seek the views of the public in a plebiscite to coincide with municipal elections scheduled for 2008.
On July 2, 2006 members of the Halifax Regional Police entered the Barrington Street Superstore in Halifax with measuring tapes and with no interference from staff and began an investigation to see if it was in compliance with Nova Scotia's Sunday shopping regulations. Three days later, on July 5, 2006, Sobeys filed a motion in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to have the new Sunday shopping law of Rodney MacDonald's Government to be declared invalid, and was joined by Atlantic Superstore in the case, who entered by seeking interveener status.
Sobeys felt that the law was unjust, in that it allowed competitors such as Pete's Frootique to open Sundays. Pete's Frootique took the province to court 7 years earlier, and won the right to open Sundays, and so was "grandfathered" in the Sunday Shopping legislation to allow it to continue to open on Sundays.
On October 4th, 2006, The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia ruled that the Nova Scotian Government had over stepped its authority by forcing the supermarkets to close. In response, Premier Rodney MacDonald announced that effective Sunday, October 8th. Sunday shopping would be an unrestricted option open to all retail stores, and can be open on all holidays except Remembrance Day. Since then, Sunday shopping has been widespread throughout the province.
[edit] Ontario
Retail Business Holidays Act (1990) of Ontario originally prohibited most stores from opening on Sundays. However, there were many exceptions to this rules (for example, gas stations, convenience stores, tourist areas). Many store owners who opposed the law decided to open their stores on Sundays, knowing the fact that they were breaking the law.
In June 1990, Ontario Supreme Court found that Retail Business Holidays Act unconstitutional. As a result, Ontario had nine months of open-wide Sunday shopping, until Ontario Court of Appeal's reversal of the decision in March 1991. [1]
However, public opposition to Sunday closing continued to rise. Bowing to public pressure, the Rae government passed the legislation in June 1992, to permit Sunday shopping in Ontario. [2]
[edit] Other Canadian Provinces
Several other provinces have restrictions of some degree on Sunday shopping: in Prince Edward Island, it is only permitted from Victoria Day until the New Year; in Manitoba it requires municipal approval and it is only permitted from 12PM to 6PM each day; and in New Brunswick the decisions require dual approval from municipal and provincial officials (although that is in the process of being changed), otherwise it is only permitted from August to December. Quebec allows wide-open shopping from 8AM until 5PM; some stores (mainly supermarkets) could remain open later than 5PM, but they could not have more than four employees on staff after 5PM. Other provinces allow wide-open shopping all day on most Sundays (except when it falls on a holiday or when objected by municipalities).
[edit] Germany
In Germany, opening hours have long been restricted through the Ladenschlussgesetz. The 1956 law required shops to close for the weekend at 2 p.m. on a Saturday and 6:30 p.m. on weeknights, with opening until 6 p.m. on the first Saturday of the month, in what was known as the Langer Samstag, or "long Saturday". The law was changed, in the face of strong resistance from labour unions, to allow langer Donnerstag ("long Thursday") until 8:30 p.m. in 1988, and in 1996 opening times were extended to 8 p.m. from Monday to Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday; this was extended to 8 p.m. on Saturday in 2004.
In 2004, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled against [2] lifting restrictions on Sunday opening, which is still confined to some small bakeries and convenience stores inside railway stations and airports. However, there are plans to let Land governments decide on opening times on weekdays instead of the federal government, although there is still strong resistance to Sunday shopping from churches and politicians. As many Land governments allowed shopping around the clock Monday to Saturday during the FIFA World Cup, many other Länder, like Bavaria, North Rhine Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Berlin, Hamburg and others, will allow opening around the clock from Monday to Saturday after the summer break. The leadership of Mecklenburg-Western Pommerania has expressed an interest in allowing Sunday shopping.
[edit] New Zealand
New Zealand, which banned trading on Saturday and Sunday completely between 1945 and 1980, liberalised shopping hours in 1989. Shops may open at any time, with the exception of Good Friday, ANZAC Day and Christmas Day. However, outside the main cities, shops still close for the weekend on Saturday afternoons.
[edit] Republic of Ireland
There has been no recent legislation regarding Sunday trading in the Republic of Ireland, which is regulated by the Shops (Hours of Trading) Act 1938.
This Act confers on the responsible minister the right to control trading, and also lays down certain types of business which are exempt, i.e. types of business can open on Sundays, but only for the sale of certain items. However, major chains (supermarkets, DIY, household goods, clothing etc.) open their branches throughout the Republic on Sundays usually from 10AM to 7PM in the larger cities and from 12 noon to 6PM in the smaller centres. In Dublin, almost all shops are open on a Sunday.
Some supermarkets, such as Tesco, are open around the clock, every day.
[edit] United Kingdom
Sunday trading in England and Wales was not generally permitted until 1994. This meant that shops such as department stores and supermarkets were not able to open legally. A number of specialist outlets were able to open legally, including garden centres, small "corner" or family run shops, and chemists.
An earlier attempt by Margaret Thatcher's government to allow Sunday shopping in 1986 was defeated in Parliament, with opposition coming from Conservative MPs who saw it as a threat to family life and church attendance, and Labour MPs who were concerned about workers' rights. This led to the formation of the Keep Sunday Special campaign, backed by church groups and USDAW, the trade union representing shop workers.
Several large outlets challenged the legal ruling in force before 1994 by opening on Sundays, and the eventual outcome was that large stores are now able to open for up to 6 hours on Sunday between the hours of 10am and 6pm, in practice this means that they open from 10am to 4pm or 11am to 5pm or 12pm to 6pm. Supermarkets usually open from 10am-4pm, whereas most other businesses open (and close) later. Christmas Day and Easter Sunday have been excluded as trading days. This applies even to garden centres, which earlier had been trading over Easter. Details of the changes to the legislation are included in the Sunday Trading Act 1994. In 2006, the government considered further relaxation of the permitted hours of business but decided that there was no consensus for change. [3]
In Scotland, there was no specific legislation regarding Sunday trading, it being left to the discretion of local councils. Consequently, opening hours are longer than in England and Wales, and large supermarkets remain open 24-7. In the Western Isles, where the Free Church of Scotland has a considerable following, there has been virtually no commercial activity on Sundays until recently. In many small towns and villages shops will still remain closed on Sunday. Unlike England and Wales there is no restriction on Easter Sunday opening and therefore this is a normal shopping day.
In Northern Ireland, Sunday shopping is regulated under the Sunday Trading (Northern Ireland) Order 1997. Opening hours are more limited, usually between 1pm and 6pm. This was to create a greater gap between Sunday services and the opening of large shops, in response to objections from churches, which have more influence than in the rest of the UK. Pubs were not allowed to open on Sunday in Northern Ireland until 1989.
[edit] United States
Many stores in the United States have reduced hours of operation on Sundays (most often 11 a.m. or noon to 5 or 6 p.m.), although the recent trend has led to expansion. A few local municipalities still prohibit Sunday shopping, and many others prohibit it until a certain time (most often noon or 1 p.m.), especially in regard to selling alcohol.
One of the last major areas to completely prohibit Sunday shopping is Bergen County, New Jersey. This area contains one of the largest and most popular commercial shopping cores of the New York metropolitan area (for example, one of three local Ikea stores is found here, the store is the only one in the United States to be closed on Sunday). Ironically, the area is not considered to be particularly religious compared to the U.S. population at large; and it also has significant Jewish and Muslim populations whose observant members would not be celebrating the Sabbath on Sunday. But attempts to repeal the law have failed as many locals either like to keep the law on the books as a protest against the growing trend of increased Sunday shopping activity in American society or fear the potential increase of Sunday traffic on major local roads such as Rt. 4 or Rt. 17. Some local Orthodox Jews who are off both days of the weekend have complained about the law because it limits their ability to get shopping done on the weekend without having to travel to a neighbouring county as religious beliefs prohibit shopping on Friday night or on Saturday before sunset, which in the summer can be right before most department stores and malls close.
A number of states (notably Indiana and Georgia), completely prohibit alcohol sales on Sundays, a measure which has ties to prohibition.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] Against
[edit] For
[edit] References
- ^ Retail Trading Hours Referendum. Western Australian Electoral Commission (26 February 2005).
- ^ Germany rejects Sunday shopping. BBC (9 June, 2004).
- ^ Sunday trading limits to remain. BBC (6 July 2006).
