Glebe businesses get city approval to open on some holidays

Businessesin the Glebe will be allowed to stay open on sixstatutoryholidaysafter Ottawa city council approved Wednesday a bylaw to give its business improvement area an exemption from provincial legislation.

In the best case scenario for Glebe retailers, Victoria Day would be the first holiday all businessesalong the Bank Street strip, at Lansdowne Park and on Pretoria Avenuecould choose to stay open.

But that's not a certainty because the Ottawa and District Labour Council plans to appeal the exemption at the Ontario Municipal Board.

Sevencouncillorsalsoopposed the exemption: JeffLeiper, CatherineMcKenney, RileyBrockington, StephenBlais, Diane Deans, RickChiarelliand KeithEgli.

Retailers facing'difficult retail landscape'

As in any part of the city, some Glebebusinessessuch as restaurants, the movie theatre and small shops that sell foodstuffs, handicrafts, antiques or tobaccowere already allowed to open on statutory holidays

But the Glebe Business Improvement Area applied tobeexempted from provincial laws the first such application the city hadreceivedsince amalgamation so that allshops could open on those days.

"The big issue about this for us was about choice. Not every business will ultimately decide to stay open and not every business will choose to stay open on every holiday," said Andrew Peck, executive director of the Glebe BIA."Businesses need to be able to, in order to thrive, harness the traffic when it's there."

For a city to grant anexemption, Ontario requires the area bereliant on people visitingnearby tourist attractions.

With the 16 - 7 vote at council Wednesday morning, the Glebe retailers join five otherareas in Ottawa that are allowed to be open on New Year's, Family Day, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day and Thanksgiving.

Those other areas have had special exemptions for more thantwenty years, andincludethe ByWard Market, the Rideau Centre and businesses in its surrounding business improvement area, as well as the Loblaws on Rideau Streetand the Sparks Street Mall.

Labour organization to file appeal

The Ottawa and District Labour Council intends to appeal the Glebe's new exemption at the Ontario Municipal Board within the next thirty days.

The Glebe BIA said many employees want to work for extra wages on statutory holidays and itintends to give information packages reminding its members aboutemployee rights.

But the labour council'spresident, Sean McKenny, is concerned employees will lose shifts or even be let go if they don't want to work holidays.

"This matter-of-fact 'Well, a worker can choose to work or not work' is just ludicrous," said McKenny.

McKenny also doesn't believetheGlebetrulymeets the province's criteria of being within two kilometres of atourism attraction.

Parliament Hill is a legitimate building that's an attraction, he said, not the length of a waterway.

City staff considered the RideauCanal, the Canadian Museum of Nature and Lansdowne Park when assessing whether the Glebe deserved to be exempted from the statutory holiday regulations.

Option to open on holidays could be given to still more businesses

Businesses elsewhere in the city may also be given the option to stay open on statutory holidays in 2017, given that the city is expecting more tourists during Canada's 150th birthday year.

Coun. AllanHubleyasked staff to consultallBIAs, boards of trade andchambers of commerce and other pockets of businessesabout the idea of a pilot project.

Then, after 2017, businesses inother parts of the city could decide if they too wanted to seek an exemption as the Glebe has done.

"This would give them hard numbers to say, 'Okay, thisis the potential of staying open.This is the cost of staying open. Maybe we don't want to do that,''said Hubley.