Toronto Star Classroom Connection

Suburban malls vie to stay open on holidays

But proposal is opposed by many retail workers, labour council

FRANCINE KOPUN

Suburban malls have renewed their fight to remain open on statutory holidays, pitting convenience and commerce against retail workers who want to enjoy common days of rest with family and friends.

If the malls prevail, consumers will be able to shop at Yorkdale and Scarborough Town Centre nearly every day of the year, including New Year’s Day, Family Day, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day and Thanksgiving Day.

City council voted against the idea in 2017, but the economic landscape has changed significantly since then, according to Coun. Mike Colle (Ward 8 Eglinton-Lawrence).

Colle pushed the issue back into the spotlight in April when he asked the city’s Economic and Community Development Committee to recommend to council that Yorkdale be allowed to open on the six holidays in question. Council subsequently assigned staff to study the issue.

“Brick and mortar retail is under siege as never before from offshore, online shopping and even more acutely since the impact of COVID-19,” Colle said in his letter of support.

The mall is located in his ward. William Correia, director of Yorkdale Shopping Centre, says it’s about levelling the playing field.

The Toronto Eaton Centre is open for business every day except Dec. 25, a privilege it enjoys under a tourism exemption it obtained from the city’s bylaw governing holiday shopping. The Distillery District and Yorkville have the same exemption, and malls in other jurisdictions, including Square One in

Mississauga and Vaughan Mills also stay open on most statutory holidays.

Yorkdale mall officials say it’s a tourist destination too. Of the 18 million visitors to the North York mall each year, 4.5 million are domestic or foreign tourists, according to Correia.

The mall has been advancing its tourism strategy for at least 10 years, he added. It employs a senior manager of tourism and partners with tourism associations to drive domestic and foreign travellers to Yorkdale. About 20,000 people show up at the mall each statutory holiday because they assume the mall is open, or they are going to the cinemas or the select restaurants that are open.

“Most of them are shocked to see that we’re not open, or disappointed that we’re not open,” Correia said.

Grocery retail worker Deb Henry, whose daughter and granddaughter also work in retail, fought against extending the exemptions to additional retailers in 2017, and she helped lead the fight against it again when the matter came to council in May.

“We are three generations of retail workers. These are days we can all be together. Otherwise, we can’t,” said Henry, who belongs to a union.

The change is also opposed by the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, a central body representing numerous unions.

“We have thousands of members in different sectors, and not all of them have the luxury of working Monday to Friday,” said president Andria Babbington.

“We know it’s not only money that’s important to workers,” Babbington added. “Some of them don’t have time for their children, they don’t have time for their aging parents. They don’t have time for themselves. So they look forward to these days that are designated, that they don’t have to fight with the boss to take off.”

She dismisses arguments workers can earn extra income working those days.

“It’s because they’re underpaid and they’re looking for any additional income to make that up. So, I think the business has to answer the question — are you paying them well?”

Workers’ rights on the issue of a common day of rest have been eroded over time, beginning with the death of Sunday as a traditional day of rest for everyone, says Larry Savage, a professor of labour studies at Brock University.

“I think that’s because big business drives the political agenda, and because workers’ voices are not often considered in these debates,” said Savage.

“The proliferation of these tourism exemptions over time means that fewer workers have predictability over their schedules, and it leads, I think, to more precarity.”

The Scarborough Town Centre is also agitating for change, arguing that it loses $13.8-million in sales annually from being closed on statutory holidays.

On an amendment by Coun. Shelley Carroll (Ward 17 Don Valley North), council asked staff to develop criteria and a process for designating tourist area exemptions under the section of the municipal code dealing with holiday shopping, assess whether to retain or change any of the holidays specified in the code, and report back with recommendations in 2024.

The proliferation of these tourism exemptions over time means that fewer workers have predictability over their schedules, and it leads, I think, to more precarity.

LARRY SAVAGE LABOUR STUDIES PROFESSOR

NEWS

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2023-06-10T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-10T07:00:00.0000000Z

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