Tantramar council has started the process of fixing a situation it got itself in last week when it repealed a bylaw that allowed for Sunday shopping in the the former town of Sackville. But there’s still no information from staff about how the mistake happened.
On Friday May 17, council held a short, special meeting to consider a new bylaw similar to the previous Sackville version, but with limits on Sunday shopping hours removed. Council passed first and second reading of the new bylaw on Friday, and will have to hold another meeting to entertain a third reading. CAO Jennifer Borne told CHMA via email that another special meeting will likely be called next week.
At Friday’s meeting Tantramar councillors did not ask for, and staff did not volunteer, any explanation of how staff’s bylaw review process resulted in a recommendation to repeal, when information on the province’s website clearly indicates the requirement for municipalities to have their own Sunday shopping by-law. A report from staff recommending the repeal did not include information beyond what was included in a letter from the Retail Council of Canada, who wrote to the Mayor on March 28 requesting an amendment to the bylaw.
Councillor Barry Hicks asked why the provincial law didn’t regulate Sunday shopping directly. “Doesn’t the provincial government supersede our bylaws,” wondered Hicks. “Don’t they regulate when they can be open, when they can’t?”
Tantramar Clerk Donna Beal said staff has been talking about that very issue since the day after the repeal was passed. “This is one of the very, very few acts that… does not supersede a municipal bylaw,” said Beal. “Actually the only one we’ve found so far.”
The provincial Days of Rest Act and the Municipalities Act were amended in 2004 to give municipalities direct control over Sunday shopping in New Brunswick. The act specifically allows for municipalities to pass by-laws that can permit Sunday shopping and regulate operating hours.
In response to a question from Councillor Josh Goguen, Tantramar CAO Jennifer Borne reassured councillors that no businesses would be fined for opening on Sundays until the new bylaw could be passed. “It’s under our jurisdiction,” said Borne. “So we have the authority there, but we will not be actively enforcing anything.”
