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Greater Sudbury votes for choice in shopping

With voter turnout at just over 51 per cent, it looks like Greater Sudbury business owners and shoppers will finally be given a choice in when they get to shop.
271014_referendum
With voter turnout at just over 51 per cent, it looks like Greater Sudbury business owners and shoppers will finally be given a choice in when they get to shop.
With voter turnout at just over 51 per cent, it looks like Greater Sudbury business owners and shoppers will finally be given a choice in when they get to shop.

Support for deregulation of store hours and for allowing stores to open on Boxing Day and the August Civic Holiday was overwhelming.

When it comes to deregulating store hours, more than 75 per cent of voters ticked "yes." Support for holiday shopping was slightly lower, with 62 per cent voting "yes" to opening on the August Civic Holiday and 61 per cent doing the same for Dec. 26.

John Querney, who co-chaired the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce's deregulation working group and owner of Querney's Office Plus, said the city's voters were clear: They want to have a choice.

"After 20 years of lobbying, this feels great," Querney said. "I really expected the holiday questions would be closer. This is a vote for choice."

He said he himself wouldn't consider shopping on Boxing Day, for example, but "that's my choice," and Querney feels retailers and shoppers should be able to exercise their own choice as well — they can shop or be open if they want to, when they want to.

Debbi Nicholson, chamber president and CEO, said the business community is "delighted" with the referendum results, saying the high support for deregulation and for holiday shopping is particularly telling.

"I think it speaks volumes about what the residents of this community really want," Nicholson said. "It shouldn't be council that dictates the moral fibre of the community."

She reiterated the chamber's long-held position that deregulating store hours will not result in an explosion of 24-hour stores in the city.

"We've talked to a lot of independent and small and large retailers — like the big box stores — and most of them indicated they wouldn't be changing their hours," Nicholson said.

What will change, she said, is the city's business community can now tailor their operating hours to their customers' needs, and shoppers — particularly the many city residents who are on shift work — can do their shopping at times that best fit their schedules.

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