Odd rule means Manitoba stores must close July 2, can stay open Canada Day

Retail stores in Manitoba will be allowed to open Canada Day but most will be forced to stay closed the following day thanks to an odd quirk of legislation that switches which day is the stat holiday.

The Retail Council of Canada says they have asked the province — again — to simplify the rules around Canada Day so stores close July 1 instead of July 2.

"[The rules are] counter-intuitive to what Manitobans would expect," said John Graham, Prairie director of government relations for the Retail Council of Canada.

The whole situation is a wee bit tricky, said Graham, but the problem mostly lies in the fact that Canada Day, a stat holiday, lands on a Sunday this year. 

The federal Holiday Act states that when Canada Day is on a Sunday, it is no longer a stat holiday. Instead, the Monday, July 2, becomes a stat holiday.

The rule was put in place to guarantee employees working Monday to Friday would receive a stat holiday for Canada Day.

However, Manitoba's Retail Businesses Holiday Closing Act states when there is a stat holiday, retail stores must close to give their employees the holiday. (There are exceptions to this rule for the hospitality industry and smaller stores with few employees.)

What ends up happening in Manitoba, said Graham, is that stores may open Canada Day, if they choose, under the province's Sunday shopping rules, but must close on July 2.

Working Canada Day

About 70,000 retail workers and management may end up working July 1 instead of celebrating Canada Day, said Graham.

"And then [they will be] out of work opportunities on July 2."

Stores will also suffer softer sales on Canada Day and no sales July 2.

The council reached out to the province in a letter in the fall about the issue and asked Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen to consider amending the province's act to clarify "that July 1 is a statutory holiday, no matter what day of the week it falls on."

All it would require to amend the rules is that the date — July 1 — be placed after the words "Canada Day" in a section of Manitoba's act, said Graham.

Manitoba, New Brunswick and parts of Ontario are the only provinces that don't have specific language around preventing this situation for Canada Day, said Graham; Nova Scotia amended its regulations just last week.

Because Canada Day only falls on a Sunday every five or six years (occasionally it's more than a decade because of leap years), the province's viewpoint is "it's not worth addressing at this time," said Graham.

A spokesperson for the minister said groups have not expressed a "high level of interest" in the problem.

"While Canada Day occurs on a Sunday only once every seven years, we would be happy to hear from any interested group or individual who wishes to share their views on this topic," Pedersen said in an emailed statement.

The council reached out to the previous NDP provincial government in 2007 and 2012, but had no success, Graham said.

Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce president Loren Remillard said the issue does come up for its retail members when this happens.

"It is an issue that doesn't happen every year, obviously, but when it does, it does create confusion in the marketplace and that is the problem," said Remillard, explaining the communication around what is open and closed on July 1 just becomes more muddy and problematic for retailers and customers alike.

"Ultimately, the intent of what is trying to be done is to remove that confusion," he said.

The next time Canada Day falls on a Sunday is 2029 due to one of those occasional long intervals.