T wH1TrBY FRE PRESSý, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1988, PAGE 7 PAGE SEVEýN want... legally even. Yeu may have to go abit farther than usual but someone will be selling it. Against this backdrop of not-quite wide-open Sundays, we have the spectacle of politicians falling ail over each other trying NOT te have te deal with this issue. Ever since David Peterson announced that the decision would be left ta the incividual municipalities, local politicians have been taking firm stands against having ta take a stand. Toronto bas passed a resolution opposed, not ta Sunday shopping, but rather, te having ta make the decision. Other municipalities, including WVhitby, have supported Toronto's lead. .... Sunday shopping is a hot potato. It bas a lot in cammon with the temperance issue which dominated politics for haîf a century. Like temperance, Sunday shopping has religlous overtones,but bath are primaffly economic issues. Just as many restaurants rely on serving alcohal as the difference between bankruptcy and prosperity, so, many businesses survive on the li1lROU-) MOMMA FROM AhE1RI~ additional incarne from being open on Sundays. The licensing of7j liquar establishments is a local responsibility, and there are stili afew areas which have chasen to remain "dry."_________________________________________ The histary of Sunday shopping is one of minor concessions ______________________________________ whicb have become major po-litical headaches. The village___________ ___________________________ general store which neyer.really clased is where it ail began. "Well, if they caxi stay apen, why sbouldn't I?" And then there were the drug stores. "People have ta be able ta get drugs [and casmetics, and cards, and graceries, and films, and batteries, and toys] on a Sunday, don't they?' "If Howie's and Jerry's can seil ail that stuif on Sunday's, why can't I?" And the flea markets. "If they can selI everything from $3,000 dining raom suites, ta clotbing, ta books, ta records, ta groceries, ta car stereos, tae. and, oh yes, even a few bits af junk, why can't my store stay open?" "Only if you restrict yourself ta 2,400 sq.ft. of floor space and tbreé emplayees." And the tourist areas. "Tourists won't came unless there's something ta do, will tbey? Like go shopping for fur coats, and books and records and groceries and drugs and furniture and antiques and boats and car stereos... And the corner canvenience store that sels a lot more than corner canvenience. And the gas stations that seil a lot more than gas. And the restaurants that selI a lot more than meals. There is preciaus littie that you can't buy on a Sunday!! -Sa why ail the hullabaloo about Sunday shopping? Because through the years, there bas been a.piecemeal relaxation of the Lord's Day restrictions wbich have favored those with the '» " inclination ta stretch the rules ta the detrimient of those who would rather take the day off. We are now at the point where aIl those piecemeal exemptions have corne ta a head. If grocery stores are ta be closed on Sunday, then you shouldn~t be able ta buy canned goods at a drug store. If furniture stores are supposed ta beBAD ISTE , R ELNLOK GNRH,10 clased then you shouldn't be able ta buy a chesterfield at a fleaBAD ISTE ,BROLNLOKN NRH,10 market. This view loaking nartb from Roebuck Street, shows at right the aId Methodist Episcopal committee with Oshawa [and Ajax, and Pickering] sa that the Governors. whole area adapts a coordinated appraach. 0 Clarence S. Thompson bas retired after 20 years as an employee ofWVhitby Township. Or haw about a bylaw that states a maximum number of 0 Charles Stafford is offering St. John Ambulance first aid courses at Kathleen Rowe hours a business can be open per week so that if it opens Schoal under the auspices of the Whitby Chamber of Commerce. Sunday, it bas ta close some other day of the week. Or how a Mayor Stan Martin will open a new A & P store on Brock Street North on Jan. 22. about tying retail business licence rates and/or tax rates to the10 ER AG number of hours a business is open so if they want ta be open10YE SAG Sundays, tbey pay for the privilege - far mare sensible- than from the F'riday, January 20, 1888 edition of the flning them after the fact and tying up the courts.. WHITBY CHRONICLE The issue of Sunday shopping is nat as black and white as it 0 Braoklin bas its own skating rink under the supervision of hotelkeeper Thomas Chinn. might seem at first. Our local politicians owe us some * John Robson bas installed a steam engine at the Brooklin mill. leadership in dealing with this thorny issue. Ranting at the 0 George Stafford was flned 50 cents for removing articles fram the Stafford and Cormack provincial government will not salve anything. Peterson quite* store before the partnership was afficially dissolved. properly bas referred the matter ta, those wbo are supposedly in0 Simon Fraser advertises fine china tea sets, 44 pieces, for $4.50 per set. Green, Black and the clasest contact with the situation. How councillors respond Japan teas are 25 cents a pound. to that challenge should be a prime consideration in, their election plans for this falI.________________________________________