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From September 2015
Dear Mayor and Member of Council:
I am writing to you on behalf of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG), which represents independent and franchised grocers here in the City of Toronto and across the country. Some of our members in Toronto that you would be familiar with are Longos, Summerhill Market, Sun Valley Supermarket, Pusateris, Kitchen Table, Highland Farms, Coppa’s and Fiesta Farms.
As you are no doubt aware, the City’s holiday shopping bylaw was recently challenged in the courts by one of our members, successfully. This was again successful on appeal and has resulted in the City Solicitor bringing forward a report to Council on September 30th.
It is our view that this recent court decision and the report by the City Solicitor presents Council with an opportunity to review and update the current bylaw to ensure it acknowledges the new realities of retail, changing customer demands, reflects the multicultural makeup of the population and eliminates the subjective designation of five tourism exempt areas in the City of Toronto.
- The current bylaw exempts restaurants and fast food chains since they sell “prepared foods”. The reality is that most if not all grocery stores sell prepared foods, and many will have space allocated within their stores for prepared foods that is equal to or greater than many restaurants. As well, the City has decided to immerse itself in retail management, by also dictating that no more than three persons can be engaged in serving the public. Why?
- Drug stores are also exempt, probably harkening back to an era when these stores were almost entirely pharmacies. The reality of retail today however, is that certain channels between retail that were once segmented, now overlap and compete. For example, Shoppers Drug Mart is now owned by the Loblaw Co., and consumers can and do purchase a wide range of grocery products in those stores, including cereal, eggs, milk and a number of Presidents Choice products. We expect the grocery component to grow in these stores.
- Online shopping is also now available at all hours, on all days and is also growing. So retail stores who have invested the ‘bricks and mortar’ into physical store locations in neighbourhoods across the city, are disadvantaged.
- The multicultural reality of the City is not reflected in this archaic bylaw. To prohibit retailers from opening on holidays such as Victoria Day and Thanksgiving, is incomprehensible to residents and retailers in a myriad of diverse communities across the City.
- The continuing designation of the ‘favoured five’ tourism exempt areas needs to be eliminated. This is a large, vibrant and dynamic city with a wide array of tourism attractions and areas that have equal claim to tourism status. What elected official will explain to businesses and residents in their Wards, that their community is second tier status? For example, why is the area that encompasses the old Maple Leaf Gardens (now a Loblaw store) be exempt, but the area that includes the new home of the Toronto Maple Leafs at Maple Leaf Square is not? There are a host of other such contradictions of which all of us in this city are aware. As well, it is also worth noting that these five exempt areas have been working quite well for businesses and What evidence is there that the experience in the rest of the City would be different?
As Unifor recently stated, studies show retailers don’t make any more money by staying open, as consumers simply shift their spending. We agree. This is not about generating more revenue for retailers, but simply allowing them to make the proprietary decision to open or close, depending on what the community itself wants. Some grocery retailers do not for example, stay open on Boxing Day, as is their right, because many consumers opt to not shop for groceries on that day.
The current bylaw provides a framework that picks “winners and losers” on the retail landscape of this city. A framework that is clearly out of date, inconsistent, contradictory and inequitable. The City has changed. Retail has changed. It’s time for Council to ensure this particular bylaw reflects those changes.
We appreciate your consideration and look forward to engaging with the Mayor, Council and City staff in moving forward in this area. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Gary Sands
Vice President
