A few things.

[c9]

Firstly, I hope all the Nova Scotians reading this voted! Because you're all complainers just like me, so if you didn't vote, it's your own fault.

Secondly, why are people so stupid?!?

- John Hamm and the Tories are stupid because they could have made some inroads in the urban centres by just allowing limited Sunday shopping, and it would have been a much smaller deal. Instead they tried to leverage their rural voter base, and succeeded in reminding the cities that the Tories don't care about their wishes or needs.
- Voters are stupid because they were most worried about people having to work on Sundays, and PEOPLE ARE ALREADY FORCED TO WORK ON SUNDAYS! Look at the parking lot of the mall TODAY: dozens of cars. People are forced to work, they're just disallowed from SHOPPING. Unless it's for prepared food, cigarettes, or magazines. The law provides plenty of loopholes.

If the problem is poor treatment of workers ("you must work on Sunday") then change the law to force fair treatment of workers. Don't ignore that problem, create a false argument between the farmers and the city dwellers, and then crow about it later.

I'd never make a good politician, I have no patience for this kind of idiocy.

Finally, kudos to disasternat for a strong campaign and being willing to bring up issues and fight for what he believes in. Keep an eye on him, this guy's going to go far.

Comments

[jdhorner.livejournal.com]

what? nova scotians can't shop on sundays but have to work? or can only work if they sell cigarettes? or they can only shop for those items?

i'm SO confused...

[c9.livejournal.com]

*grin*

No Sunday shopping in NS. Unless it's a convenience store, a magazine shop, or restaurant/pub venue. BUT retail employees can be forced to work to do inventory, restock shelves, clean, and do all those other job things -- as long as they don't interact with customers.

[jdhorner.livejournal.com]

but _why_? has it always been this way? is this something new? what's the ideaology behind it? don't they realize the potential lost revenue of weekend capitalism at its best?

is there more of this in canada?

impart knowledge, now!

[c9.livejournal.com]

Always! The cavemen used to avoid banging rocks together on Sundays too.

(Most areas of the western world have Sabbath-type restrictions, though we're gradually letting people's religion be personal and private, finally)

NS is the only remaining province with no form of Sunday shopping (even though, as I described above, there's all sorts of it anyway). NB has the last five months of the year allowing sunday shopping, and PEI the last six weeks of the year. Some studies show there is no real increase in retail revenue, only distribution of the same money over a longer period. Not sure if that's been mostly disproven or what.

Also, one negative: Sunday shopping can encourage more Sunday driving by SUVs and Hummers and other moron-transporters, leading to more traffic and more pollution (who takes the bus to the mall? not "grownups"...)

[nihilicious.livejournal.com]

Some studies show there is no real increase in retail revenue, only distribution of the same money over a longer period. Not sure if that's been mostly disproven or what.

I'm not sure where the studies stand. But someone explained it to me this way: Do you really think that the average monthly expenditures for a NB family for, say, October, are significantly more than for the comparable NS family? After all, any increased retail revenue would have to come from somewhere.

[c9.livejournal.com]

Good point. I still fall on the side of "protect workers, don't force companies to follow abstract rules." Is the government gaining something by restricting free commerce during certain hours of the day, or certain days of the week? No. Are workers? Plausibly. So ensure that the workers do not suffer, but that the government doesn't butt in where it has no legitimate interest.

[sixr18.livejournal.com]

You cant shop on sundays?

[disasternat.livejournal.com]

It is illegal to open stores with the exception of smaller boutiques and the like on Sunday

[dipdewdog.livejournal.com]

sunday is the one day of the week that i actually have the time to go out and run errands. i'd not do so well...

[c9.livejournal.com]

Yeah drove us batty too. Ontario has Sunday shopping (good) but Kitchener, the city we're in, seems to pretty much roll up the sidewalks anyway. Somebody told me that "Sunday in Kitchener is like Sunday on the Moon." It's true!