This issue of Toronto’s stores remaining open on holidays has been controversial and bantered around for years. For some reason we have been resistant to let stores open on holidays. Of course our neighbours to the south have no such qualms, so cross-border shopping trips heat up when our retailers remain closed, robbing them of holiday shopping.

The City of Toronto, who makes these policies, is absolutely hypocritical. They allow stores in designated tourist areas to open on any day of the year except for Christmas Day. Tourism officials want the entire city to enjoy the same benefits and offer holiday shopping from 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM. However the Toronto Economic Development Committee wants businesses not in designated tourist areas to remain closed.

For years the City of Toronto had the same reaction to Sunday shopping. It appears that we have a great resistance to change, even if it makes economic sense. City tourism officials feel that Toronto’s tourism industry would be better served if the entire city was open on holidays. After all, that’s when the tourists are out in full force with their shopping dollars. It’s arrogant to designate only the area downtown around the Eaton Centre as a tourist area when tourists are all over the GTA. Unless we plan to confine our tourists to a narrow geographic area of downtown Toronto, then the tourism officials are quite right that the entire City of Toronto should be open for business on holidays. One suggestion is that the entire GTA be designated a tourist area and solve the problem. What do you think? Should all stores be able to open on holidays?