Referendum campaign sure to be a one-sided affair

However, only the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce registered to campaign on the referendum ahead of the Sept. 12 deadline. That means only the chamber can spend money and officially represent the 'yes' side in the campaign. Groups that want store hours to stay the same can't spend any money or officially campaign in support of their cause.

Traditionally, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union led the anti-deregulation fight in Greater Sudbury. Calls seeking comment from Chris Fuller, the new director of Region 8 of the UFCW, weren't returned by the end of the day Monday.

But André Dumais, who co-chaired the chamber's task force on deregulation, said the fact there's no official opponent in the referendum is a shock.

“I'm floored, actually,” Dumais said. “They've been incredibly vocal on this subject for decades, so I'm absolutely flabbergasted that they have not registered.

“I don't know – maybe they're facing the fact that Sudbury is ready for this transition.”

Dumais said the chamber's campaign will go ahead pretty much as planned, with a focus on educating the public about what deregulation really means.

“We want to defuse what the other side has been saying, that this is about 24-hour shopping,” he said. “They've been saying that deregulation means mandatory, 24-hour shopping, which is not at all what we're advocating.

“We're just advocating that business owners have the choice of when to open and when to close their stores.”

City clerk Caroline Hallsworth said that while 50 per cent is a minimum turnout to be legally binding, the data is inconclusive about whether referendums boost voter turnout on their own. A big factor is the amount of media coverage the issue receives, citing Thursday's referendum over Scottish independence as an example.

“It all depends on the people campaigning on the referendum — whether they get people engaged and talking about topics they want to go out and vote on,” Hallworth said.
“Look at the Scottish referendum — there's been a lot of coverage in the media, both sides are fighting a fierce battle and it's close. So there's lots of interest, not only in Scotland but around the world. … So it's pretty big – it's like the Quebec referendum.”

Whether the local plebiscite will gain much traction remains to be seen, she said.

“That's something beyond the control of the clerk's department – whether either side's campaign engages the public and encourages them to come out and vote.”

In addition to picking a new mayor, council and slate of schoolboard trustees, voters in the Oct. 27 election will cast ballots in favour or in opposition to three questions related to store hours:

- Are you in favour of retail business establishments having the choice to open to the public on Dec. 26;

- Are you in favour of retail business establishments having the choice to open to the public on the Civic Holiday, the first Monday in August; and,

- Are you in favour of allowing retail business establishments to choose the hours when they are open to the public?