feet UPON po ee et ee mg + city council a By GLENN KELLY _ ALLOWING BUSINESSES in Terrace the op- tion of being open on statutory holidays should be decided by the businesses and the consum- ers not by the city. I believe that allowing businesses the op- tion of opening or not, is something that we need to do, . A lot of other cities in the province allow . Stores to be open on statutory holidays and _ don’t seem to have a problem with the holiday being observed by those who want to observe them. . [also believe that it might help stimulate -our somewhat failing economy. Last year in _-Canada on Boxing Day, Canadians spent $750 million and not one penny of that was spent in . Terrace. Maybe the stores that‘decide to open won't. have enough employees and would have to hire someone new. My opinion is that if by “opening on stats created one new job then it is “a success. We have need to try and do something new “and sometimes change is hard but it has to be done. What about ail the people from the out- Closings By DAVID HULL THE HOLIDAY shopping debate is not as con- tentious or divisive as some might have you believe. I could make a very compelling argument for either side. Having stores open on statutory holidays is not going to erode the town's values and have us verge on social decay. Having stores closed on statutory holidays jg not going to bring economy to it knees and have Terrace branded as a town not progress- mg. We need to recognise the characteristics and uniqueness that make Terrace special and -add to the quality of life. We do not want to sterilize our town’s heart and soul with policies resulting in Terrace ap- pearing no different than any other town, We need to celebrate what we have. Holiday shop closings hold two distinctive advantages. The town is quieter and special “events are more prominent in the day’s activi- - ties, ; ’. Secondly, events scheduled on holidays are attended and enjoyed by a considerably larger "number of citizens. 1 like that main street is empty and many- lying towns who come to Terrace to shop on long weekends. They can only purchase what they can keep in their ve- hicles, They can’t purchase grocer- ies and stay in town for the whole weekend so they go home ear- ly and don’t spend what they might mB have if we had mB grocery stares ‘ Glenn Kelly ~ days. How about all of the fisherman from out of town that are here during July and August. Maybe they would need to purchase something on the holiday. This is about change and trying something new, it’s about trying to stimulate some new make us can attend cere- monies remem- bering those who have served our country to ensure our freedom. “Carry out on check stand six and please don't forget our vetler- ans who gave their life for you.” If you think shop- ping is. more im- portant than cele- brating our great nation you should talk to some new citizens that have come from coun- tries rife with poverty, famine, war and hope- lessness. “Special in aisle two and don’t for- get to be glad that you do not live in Afghanis- tan.” Some will have you believe that having shops closed will chase off tourists or have them starving, You will not find the remains of an emaciated tourist on the side of the road. There are always plenty of special events The David Hull open on stat -holi- . ‘et business regulate itself. business, it’s about being progressive, and it’s about a concern for our city and nat wanting to see any more businesses close or leave town. How do you open on certain stats and not others without offending certain groups. If we only close on those days where we need to “remember,” what does that say to the people who celebrate religious days? Maybe our council needs to talk to other cities that allow their stores to be open on stals to see how they handle it. The stores that don’t want to be open don't have to be but the stores that do want to shouldn't be told that they can't. It’s their busi- ness after all. Lastly, let's try something new, and not just sit here, do nothing and continue.to see all of us struggle. -A reality: check will‘tell us; that the > forest industry Will never céme back the way'it” |] used to be, so we had better start looking and trying new and different things. We cannot do business today the way we did yesterday, Doing the same thing day after day brings the same results. Let's move for- ward and be progressive. special that will attract visitors not scare them away. “Blue light special in hardware and thanks to all who have laboured to create our nation.” Tt is not wrong for the town to cling to val- ues and traditions we hold dear. It is not wrong to take time to celebrate our heritage, our freedom, our city etc. and provide as much op- portunity for everyone to participate. in general I am not in favour government taking a big brother role and affecting people in business. Free enterprise should be allowed to flourish or fail of its own accord without un- due influence from government. The caveat is that there is a demand from society for leadership by those who have being selected ta lead and govern in a manner which is beneficial for all. concerned, The benefits have to be weighed against the peril, It seems the vast.majority of those demand- ing 24 hours a day, 365 days a year shopping, are not thase that have ever have to work a weekend, an evening or a statutory holiday, With a long thoughtful assessment of the is- sue I still think the pros of statutory holiday shop closing far outweigh the cons. Traditions and a style of life that sets us apart from the masses is a desirable outcome, Happy (fill in your favourite statutory holi- day) and enjoy the day! Stat rules only affect some businesses WHILE many businesses are banned from opening on statutory holidays, some are not. There's a complex set of rules in the Holi- day Shopping Act that lay out what shops or businesses can open on stats. ‘~The city’s proposed bylaw that will replace _ the provincial act is expected lo replicate those rules. Convenience stores, newsstands and crafts and antique shops are exempt if they're smailer than 225 square metres and have no more than four workers on at a time. Also exempt are: M Hotels “i Restaurants WFresh fruit and vegetable stands M@ Pharmacies M§ Gardening stores and nurseries @ Equipment rental outlets = @ Gas stations, repair garages and vehicle rental outlets a wo _» fi Self-serve laundries or other coin-operat- ed services °. @ Movie or live production theatres, mu- seums, and various other recreation, entertain- ment or cultural centres The regs were part of the chamber of com- merce’s argument last week for overhauling the old rules, Lael McKeown and others argued that it’s discriminatory to allow only . some businesses to open on holidays but force others to remain closed. “Why are you differ- entiating between one group of businesses and another?” she asked. Regulatory services director Paul Gipps said the rules tend to cover businesses that tourists or visitors are likely to need. Ending the restrictions on holiday shopping in the summer would allow other outlets from shoe _and clothing stores to banks and hair salons to also open up. City officials say the biggest impact on em- - ployees would be from openings by major su- _ permarkets and other department stores. - Although openings are voluntary, Gipps sald all large retailers will likely end up opening on stats to tap extra business and avoid losing customers to rivals. Terrace is actually one. of the few northwest towns so far moving to regu- late holiday shopping, Gipps said Prince Rupert is allowing holi- days to go unrestricted and Smithers may also allow unrestricted holiday shopping. It’s un- clear which way Kitimat will go, he said. City council is expected to give first read- ings to the bylaw restricting holiday shopping on Sept. 29. A special council meeting would be required in early October to adopt the by- law in time to keep the ban in place for Thanksgiving. Council had looked to business leaders for guidance on the issue, The chamber of com- merce conducted a series of surveys of its members that produced conflicting results. The third one found 64 per cent of chamber members who responded who ate retailers fa- your allowing openings on the three summer holidays. “This is what the business communi- ty .wants,” chamber president Sheila Love — said. » . Dear Sir: . The Terrace Standard, Wedhesday, September 17, 2003 - AS CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD The Mail Bag They’re out of touch Dear Sir: ; Unfortunately: we have a Premier, a MLA and a B.C. Liberal Government that are so out of touch of the needs of northern British Columbians’ it is shocking. ae Mr. Harris has stood by silently as Gordon Campbell and his B.C, Liberals have dismantled the services, education, and health care so important to northern British Columbians, except for one time (to my knowledge) where. Mr. Harris says he “almost” voted against Gordon Campbell's draconian legislation. , —— es In The Terrace Standard’s article of Sept. 3, 2003, “Northwest paralysed by strike’ Mr. Harris seems to blame the “greed” of Eurocanemployees for the economic disparity in the northwest, It. is my understanding that pay increases are not the main stumbling block in settling the dispute at Eurocan and ether Mr. Harris is misinformed or is once again speaking for his B.C. Liberal cronies in Victoria. Mr. Harris, instead of beating up on the people you are supposed ta be representing in the media, take responsibility for the dismal track record you and your B.C. Liberal government really have. I believe the arlicle in The Terrace Standard should have been titled “Northwest paralysed by the lack of representation from Roger Harris, Gordon Campbell and their B.C. Liberals. James D. Fraser, Terrace, B.C. Hey you parents Dear Sir: I am writing this letter to satisfy. my curiosity. My son had his BMX bike stolen from Thornhill Jr. Secondary, on Sept. 5, Friday afternoon. Granted, he thought it would be safe in the sheltered area, while he and his peers were inside, and did not lock it, which was obviously not the thing to do. I'd like to say that he worked hard all summer to buy the special BMX parts that someone apparently desperately had to have. I guess for some people, the idea of working for something is a foreign concept. - My question is this: As parents, what did you think when your son brought home his “new” bike? Where did you imagine that he got it? It is one that obviously is not new, nor ordinary by any means. Do you ever pay any attention to where he is, when he should be in school? Because surely this thief has te be school age. what grown-up person would be hanging around the school yard, waiting for those who are going to make something of their lives to go in, By the way, this is the fifth time we have had bikes stolen, most out from under our noses, while we slept — even a tricycle. So five sets of parents that I know of are completely clueless as to what their children are up to. What a wonderful world. Carolyn Anderson, Terrace, B.C. , The real world |... eeerat Phe ed ve Cd od pecetaatca epee ike es ‘While three years in a union may not -seem like much to Clay Dunsford, (“Don’t bash’ unions,” letter to the editor, The Terrace Standard, Sept. 3, 2003), it felt like an eternity to me. Not being able to do a simple job like carry materials to do my job more then just.so many meters because it was some other union worker’s job drove me crazy. Not only did [ talk to older members in the union I was in I liked working with them and I learned a lot. But their opinion that they should be paid more to make up for inflation was just wrong. It was because of “all the unions getting ‘short term contracts with big fat pay and benefit increases that inflation goes up. And the non union workers ‘pay the price. Clay's comment that it is because of the current anti-union government” that so many blame the unions is just wishful thinking on his part. The only people in B.C. who don't know that are beautiful province is being laid to waste by greedy unions are the union members themselves. While they go on blissfully unaware or just not caring what their newest demands will do to the economy, the rest of us can only wonder when the madness will end, “A union is nothing more then a group of individuals who choose to bargain as a group” is just a fancy way of saying “the company will have to give us what we want if we all make threats and shut them down.” Well guess what people, the companies need long term “fair” contracts to be able to survive the ups and downs of the world economy. Yes, many many years ago unions did some very great things for the workiig man and woman and I myself am very grateful. And I’m in no way putting all the unions into the greedy category, but their honourable fight for “fair” wages in the past has been decimated with the greed and callous contempt of some of the present unions and-their members. How anyone can say what most union members get paid is not a pile of money is just beyond compression and just shows you they have not been out in the real world for a very long time, And as far as “fair treatment for all’ I can only assume you meant “all the union workers” because the demands unions make, hurt far more then they help the rest of us. With each ‘new increase in a union worker's pay and benefits the.gap between non union and union workers ‘graws greater. I do agree with Clay on one point and that’s that we all need to roll up are sleeves and get back to work. The only real problem is that most of us don't have shirts on our backs any more and then there is the dilemma of which union’s job it is to do the rolling. Gordon Blakeburn, Thornhill, B.C. About the Mail Bag The Terrace Siandard welcomes letters. Our address Is 3210 Clinton St., Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R2. You can fax us at 250-638-8432 or e-mail us al newsroom @ierracesiandard.com, No attachments, please. 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