Whatever!

One thing I really like about living in a city the size of Toronto is there's always something going on and there's always a store or restaurant that's open.



You might've heard city politicians talking about allowing all stores across Toronto to stay open 364-days a year. The one exception is Christmas Day.



Currently, shops in designated tourist areas can stay open on stat holidays without getting fined. But it looks like we're a half-step closer to becoming a city that never sleeps, or celebrates.



Yesterday, Toronto's economic development committee okayed a plan to let downtown and east-end stores stay open on holidays, without penalties. But said 'no' to a city-wide option allowing all stores to open-up for business on stats.



Some merchants actually want to be open year-round, so they can cut into the

economic advantage downtown stores have been enjoying for years.



The city argues if all retailers were open, it would allow tourists and residents to spend their leisure time shopping. But what about the people made to work?



When I say made to work, in a lot of cases, some employees don't have a choice.



When I worked at Blockbuster years ago, everyone on staff either worked Christmas or New Years. There was no way out of it. You had to take one of those shifts, regardless of your family or religious commitments.



That same thing happens in shops across the city, and giving greedy business owners the legal right to make employees work on the very days they're supposed to spend time with their families and relax, is just plain wrong.



We've got 350-some odd days of the year to shop! I understand your neighbourhood pharmacy staying open in case of emergencies, which they already do, but I don't know many people who need to buy a pair of shoes on Good Friday!



Granted, this is a multi-cultural city and some of the stat holidays are based on certain religious beliefs, but considering how few free-days we get to begin with, the least the city can do is lay-off and let us all have a break.





But Whatever!




You can hear Ruby Jones' Whatever rants live Tuesday-Friday during the Morning Show at 7:50, on the New Flow 93.5. Or check out the podcast at www.flow935.com!