Glebe stores' request to open on holidays sparks committee debate

Merchants in the Glebe are one step closer to opening on statutory holidays, after councillors on the city's finance and economic development committee (FEDCO) granted the Glebe Business Improvement Area an exemption from Ontario's Retail Business Holidays Act, which requires businesses to stay closed on designated holidays.

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The vote passed on Tuesday by a margin of 8 to 2.

The motion, which still needs the approval of full council, means the Glebe BIA is set to join five other areas in Ottawa that currently receive an exemption, because they are in designated tourist areas.

We want to make sure it's a level playing field. I don't think we want city council to start picking losers and winners, or pick one neighbourhood over another.- The Country Grocer owner Francois Bouchard

They are the Rideau Centre, the Loblaws on Rideau Street, as well as the BIAs in the Byward Market, Sparks Street and Downtown Rideau.

While the committee heard concerns over the quality of life of retail workers, the majority of councillors accepted the Glebe BIA's argument that it is a tourist destination.

"I think the more you offer people, the more often they're going to come," said Andrew Peck, executive director of the Glebe BIA. "I think it's going to make a difference for the city."

Winners and losers

Francois Bouchard spoke to the committee, expressing concerns that an exemption puts stores in other neighbourhoods at a competitive disadvantage.

As the owner of The Country Grocer near Mooney's Bay, Bouchard said he too would like to be open on holidays.

"We can certainly argue the same for my store," said Bouchard.

Bouchard asked councillors to either deny the Glebe's request for exemption, or provide one for every store in Ottawa.

"We want to make sure it's a level playing field. I don't think we want city council to start picking losers and winners, or pick one neighbourhood over another," he said.

Bouchard got a sympathetic ear in Mayor Jim Watson, who also chairs the committee.

"If a business wants to open, let them open. What is it for us to micro-manage and meddle to tell them when their business should open?"
   
Watson may soon get his wish. The committee agreed to ask staff to survey businesses, to gauge their interest in opening on holidays.

The survey could form part of a larger review of the city's entire policy for granting exemptions.