Freedom Flyer Winter 1988-89 Cover

Freedom Flyer 13

the official newsletter of the
Freedom Party of Ontario

Winter 1988-89




The London Free Press editorial below appeared a week after our "Freedom of Choice in Sunday Shopping" ad ran in the paper. Coincidence?


Editorial electronically reproduced from:

The London Free Press

February 20, 1988

Sunday's changing face

In the past, The London Free Press has endorsed the idea of Sunday as a common pause day during which most regular types of business activities would be closed, to provide families a period of time to spend as they choose: in rest, worship or recreation.

That concept in itself was the product of an evolutionary process; it was not so long ago that for most, Sunday was a day restricted to religious-oriented activities, when most forms of commercial recreation were considered inappropriate.

Times change, as do community standards. There is no longer a need for government to regulate a common pause day, nor any reason to regulate shopping hours on any other day of the week. Retailers should be free to determine their own hours and days of business, based on the perceived need for their service.

Despite the emotional appeals made by those who fear that the traditional family life - style will suffer, the modern family's priorities are no longer geared to closed Sundays. Besides, in a pluralistic society such as ours, the law should not be used as a tool by some people to impose their views of what constitutes appropriate Sunday behavior on others.

By no means all of those who oppose Sunday shopping do so from a religious perspective. Some store owners prefer not to work, nor to ask employees to work, on Sundays. Labor unions fear retail workers will be forced to give up a traditional day of rest.

Family considerations are important but rather than restrict opportunities for common activities, open Sundays should increase them: When many stores are closed on Sundays, busy families have to squeeze shopping and price comparison trips into hectic Saturdays. By having the freedom to extend those activities over a longer period, leisure activities that must now take place only on Sundays - or not at all - can be spread out over a longer period.

The argument in favor of a pause day has become antiquated. For many, Sundays and holidays are no longer days of rest: Police, firemen, workers in manufacturing, those catering to tourism and recreation, corner store staff and newspaper employees are called upon to work on those days so that others can continue to benefit from their services.

Provincial labor law sets out a minimum wage and the maximum number of hours staff can be required to work each day and each week and establishes when over-time must be paid. Apart from that, one of the few non-retail prohibitions to Sunday activities is that contracts cannot be executed.

Many Canadians have learned to live with that system and would be annoyed if they were suddenly deprived of services they have come to depend on each Sunday and holiday. Many churchgoers, for instance, rely on public transportation to get to their place of Sunday worship.

Consider the outcry if we turned on the television set Sunday afternoon to watch a football game, only to find the athletes had been told they could no longer play, the television network was ordered not to produce a program because its staff needed the day off, and the TV wouldn't work anyway because Ontario Hydro had been ordered to close shop so its employees could enjoy a pause day.

Public demand requires many people to work Sunday and their employers have responded by giving them another day off instead.

The time has come for government to stop dictating what stores can open for business on Sundays. It should be left to individual choice.
Monday- The next step.




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