Shopping south of the border could get easier as North Dakota mulls increasing Sunday hours

Manitoba shoppers who head down to Grand Forks, N.D. for a bargain know that they have to sleep in on Sundays the state's "blue law" keeps Sunday shopping hours limited to 126 p.m.

Those are the same hours Manitoba kept for decades, until 2012. Since then, businesses have been allowed to open at 9 a.m. on Sundays.

Now, North Dakota is looking to learn from Manitoba's example. A state committee began looking at opening up shopping hours last week.

If that happens, though, Manitoba might have to extend its Sunday hours further to stay competitive, according to Manitoba Chambers of Commerce president Chuck Davidson.

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"They are one of the few jurisdictions that's behind where Manitoba is. What we are concerned about is that if they open up these hours ... what that would do for cross-border [shopping]," Davidson said.

"A lot of the stores that people may have shopped in the past, they now have it in Manitoba, so there's less and less reason for consumers in Manitoba to go south of the border to do their shopping. If they open up those hours, that again puts them at a bit of a competitive advantage."

Province should extend hours more, MCC president says

Davidson says the three extra hours on Sundays had a big impact on Manitoba's retail sales, and he'd like to see the province go further.

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"Open it wide open," he said. "Let consumers decide. They'll tell retailers when their hours of operations need to be and it'll allows that greater flexibility to be more competitive and to meet what consumers are looking for."

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As in Manitoba, some North Dakotans are resistant to the idea, including Christopher Dodson, the director of the North Dakota Catholic Conference.

"There are more important things than taxes and commerce," Dodson said.

"It's built in our human nature to need some time of rest so we can rejuvenate and spend time with each other."

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Dodson says Sunday-shopping advocates put up a straw-man argument that his only interest is to get more people into church.

"We don't presume that we are going to make people go to church just because stores are closed. We know better than that," Dodson said.

"We should not be slave to working and buying and selling. We need some time off for our families, for our communities, for our kids, to rejuvenate so that we could be good workers later."

As for whether Manitoba might further extend its Sunday shopping hours to compete, Minister of Growth, Enterprise and Trade Cliff Cullen said the government will always consider ways to support entrepreneurs and reduce red tape.

"We are open to hearing what Manitobans have to say and look forward to meaningful dialogue on the subject," Cullen said in a statement.

Manitoba Tammy Andruchuk was in Grand Forks Sunday for a "girls' weekend," which included some shopping.

"I'm not tempted to get up to go shopping," she said of Manitoba's extended hours. "Sunday's kind of a relaxing day to get stuff done around the house and visit with family."