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Employee back at work after 'Merry Christmas' conflict

As a devout Christian, Johnathan Scott believes strongly in wishing people a Merry Christmas. But the 19-year-old Cambrian College student said the greeting recently got him in trouble at his part-time job at the South End Canadian Tire .
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South End Canadian Tire employee Johnathan Scott said he was reprimanded for wishing customers a Merry Christmas. Photo by Heidi Ulrichsen.

As a devout Christian, Johnathan Scott believes strongly in wishing people a Merry Christmas.

But the 19-year-old Cambrian College student said the greeting recently got him in trouble at his part-time job at the South End Canadian Tire.

Scott said he started wishing customers a Merry Christmas after Remembrance Day, and soon after, his immediate supervisor told him he wasn't allowed to do this, saying he should instead say "Happy Holidays."

That's despite large banners throughout the store branding Canadian Tire as “Canada's Christmas Store.”

Scott said he continued saying Merry Christmas to customers, and it eventually got him in trouble with his bosses.

The situation came to a head earlier this month, when he noticed he was only scheduled for four-and-a-half hours of work during the Christmas week, even though he'd requested more hours because he's on a school break.

Scott, who has worked for the store for more than two years, asked his supervisor about the situation and said he was told the “Merry Christmas issue” was the reason for his fewer hours.

He then met with the supervisor and the store manager, and they discussed the issue for about an hour.

During the meeting, he was again told he couldn't say “Merry Christmas” to customers because it might offend people of faiths other than Christianity.

“Through this conversation, I did my best to explain to them why I was doing this, and they still would not listen,” Scott said.

“I actually quoted the Bible, which is what I believe. Matthew 10:33 says that 'Deny me in front of your peers, and I will deny you in front of my father, who is in heaven.'
“(But) they stayed firm ... that you're not allowed to say Merry Christmas.”

When Scott told his superiors that he intended to continue saying “Merry Christmas,” he said he was told him not to come in for his next shift, although he'd still be paid.

After bringing the issue to the media last week, Scott said his employers suddenly reversed their position, apologized to him, and told employees "Merry Christmas" was an acceptable greeting.

When contacted by NorthernLife.ca, South End Canadian Tire store manager Michelle Novack passed the matter on to Canadian Tire's corporate office, which in turn released an email statement.

“Canadian Tire is Canada’s Christmas store — and any of our employees wishing someone a Merry Christmas is certainly welcome and in keeping with the season's sentiment,” said Jane Shaw, Canadian Tire's associate vice-president of corporate affairs, in the statement.

It seems, however, that Canadian Tire sees the situation differently from Scott. Shaw's statement goes on to say that the company has spoke to the store's dealer to determine the facts, “and can tell you with certainty that any suggestion that an employee was sent home or had their hours reduced for saying, 'Merry Christmas' is simply not true at all.”

Scott stands by his side of the story though.

“As far as their statement goes, I'm sure that's just the risk management,” he said.


A parishioner at Cornerstone Christian Community Church in Lively, Scott said he hopes his story is an “eye-opener.”

“The word 'Christmas' should not be viewed as a bad word,” he said. “The feedback I've had ... has been very supportive. So many people are in support of this, saying that Merry Christmas needs to come back.”


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Heidi Ulrichsen

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