Yorkdale Shopping Centre is one of Toronto's only major malls that can't fully operate on statutory holidays – for now.
Mall management is asking the city for an exemption from Ontario's Retail Business Holidays Act, which mandates that most stores in the province be closed on New Year's Day, Family Day, Easter and six other holidays.
Exceptions to the rules include gas stations, flower shops, tourist attractions and anything deemed okay by the municipality in which a business resides.
In Toronto, the Eaton Centre, Distillery District and businesses along Queens Quay West are among those that are exempt from the rules, with Vaughan Mills and Pacific Mall being added in recent years.
Yorkdale director Claire Santamaria told The Star on Friday that, because the shopping centre is so far from downtown, there isn't even a procedural way for to management to apply for an exemption.
Thus, retailers inside Yorkdale were all closed on New Year's Day (except for restaurants and movie theatres, which remained open).
Yorkdale hopes that the city can "create a mechanism" that would let popular Toronto tourist destinations outside the downtown core seek exemptions from holiday closing laws.
If the shopping centre achieves its goal, Toronto shoppers will be able to purchase Drake-approved sweatshirts 365 days of the year. Hallelujah!
by Lauren O'Neil via blogTO
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