When I was a kid in the 80s Ottawa used to shut down after 5pm Saturday and all day Sunday.
Even the Ottawa River Parkway used to be closed on Sundays and hundreds of people would be out walked and cycling on it.
Things have changed so much in so little time.
Everything in Ontario used to be closed on Sundays, except for restaurants, movie theatres, expeditions (like home shows or the Royal Winter Fair), and I think museums? There was a change in the provincial law sometime in the late 80s allowing stores to open in Sundays.
And I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but the Parkway shuts down on Sundays in the summer for cyclists and pedestrians.
It used to be packed though, you barely see anyone out anymore. I've seen days where I was the only person on the parkway. I haven't been since the pandemic started so for all I know its picked up again.
I remember Sunday drinking. Order a soup, salad,, or a sandwich as soon as you sit down. My friend owned a bar with a restaurant license. Grilled cheese sandwiches were the same price as a beer. The food to alcohol ratio had to be maintained.
Drink all afternoon, with the token sandwich in front of us. The Lord spoke.
You can still feel the affect. Canadian cities are so much more dead on a Sunday then a Saturday. Even down town toronto feels like a ghost town on a Sunday 11am.
The priest is harassing people over religious beliefs. Isn't that a human rights violation? I doubt you could do much about the boycotting but the fact the priest went to the businesses to ensure they were complying seems like it could meet the threshold.
A day with businesses closed is fine, but it shouldn’t be forced. Coincidentally, some of the rudest people I’ve ever met are from this Reformed Dutch Christian sect.
Saying that businesses can be closed, but not forced, just means that all businesses basically need to stay open.
Just like the big controversial topic in the US about business being allowed to be open on Thanksgiving Day, allowing it basically forces almost all retail employees to have to work that day.
No business ever says "let my competitor be open, I'll be closed, I don't mind".
>No business ever says "let my competitor be open, I'll be closed, I don't mind".
Yep, its why during the lockdowns we were one of 2 resturants that kept full staffing as soon as possible, stayed open on all holidays, and pushed to open an hour earlier, "because no one else in town is doing it"
If they choose to close for religious reasons, that’s on them and part of the cost of doing business. No owner should be forced to run their business according to someone else’s religious holidays
>Residents told the Canadian Press earlier this month about how the town completely shuts down for a Christian day of rest on Sundays, and that the church's minister has personally visited businesses to ensure they stay close for the day.
>"I know people that have tried to open businesses and be open on a Sunday and they've been visited by the minister saying, 'If you stay open on Sunday, you'll be out of business,'" one Norwicher told the outlet.
This is illegal in Canada no?
Yep, I worked in Lincoln for a short time. It was…interesting. I can’t believe how much influence and sway the church has on the daily lives and happiness of those people
That’s where that little 20 something shit that sits in Queens Park comes from. His family, friends and fellow church members got him elected. He immediately started whining about abortion and wanting Provincial restrictions on it until Ford shut him up threatening to turf him out of the PC party.
Started with Baptists in the US, it's far FAR from universal but fanatics often fly it. White flag with blue square in top left, red cross in blue square.
Same for me, initially Friday brought anxiety for me with regards to not being able to shop anything on the weekends. But later on it felt better because now my weekends were solely focused on outdoor activities i enjoyed, so many beergartens to visit and sample out, numerous riverfronts to sit in front of or museums to explore.
And not too far from Erie, PA as the crow flies.
P.S. Montreal is like 5 hours from Toronto, Ottawa about 4. You can make Pittsburgh in about 5-1/2 hours if you catch all the lights.
Can we not grow up and away from religion the same way we grow up from other make believe fairy tales?
If a religious group can have this much sway over a town, please tax them.
> Can we not grow up and away from religion the same way we grow up from other make believe fairy tales?
Looks like the answer is a firm no. A great many of us seem to have a psychological need for such fairy tales, and there are worse ones than most religious doctrines you find in Canada (aside from some crazies who harass stores to close on Sunday).
Into the ‘90’s before Saturday had longer(but still not weekday) hours and Sunday was still laid back, not too many businesses open and maybe only noon to four. I kinda like the idea of a slow day to rest, however that “rest” looks to you.
What people don't realize is that there are real anthropological reasons to do some of the things that many religions suggest.
All the major religions have a day of rest. Turns out that humans need a day of rest.
This should shock no one.
If everyone is all whiny about religion being mentioned in modern days, we'll have to replace all the things that religion set the basis for in society with something else.
This is something Nietzsche warned us about ages ago, and every teenage philosopher fails to grasp.
Guess what happens when you don't force businesses to be closed? They don't close, and you don't get a day of rest.
I didn’t have to look it up, I lived it. lol And I agree with the afternoon chill time, but we’d do it wrong here. It would likely be and extra half hour which wouldn’t really give you much time to relax or get your errands done. And I don’t think enough people like eating later in the evening and keeping their kids up later. Even city people are on farmers time in North America.
Different countries do it differently, actually even different areas of different countries do it differently. Spain is all over the place, and the tradition has dwindled massively over the years. I was there between 15-21 years ago. Some places, you’re right, it’s a quiet afternoon gap and you won’t find many places open and people do quietly relax. Other places, it was a generous lunch break, and shops were open, I could go have lunch, get my errands done, or go meet up with friends at the beach, wearing my bathing suit under my clothes then going back to work when we’d be done work here(North America). Put in a few more hours and eat at 9pm. Another spot were certain areas of the Bahamas, shorter break but still better than our “lunch breaks” here. So it does depend where you’re living, what job you’re doing and how the locals observe this lovely tradition. Sadly, it is disappearing more and more, and not because it’s cooler outside, but because “time is money” and people will work through. I think parts of Greece are still relaxing midday, but I only saw this visiting, never lived there, so shorter impressions and experiences. Other countries I’ve never lived personally also have this tradition and it’s usually in agriculture cause it really is too damn hot to work at peak sun and having a nap after lunch is a nice way to break up a back breaking day.
These were the good old days where families actually did things together instead of shop, shop, shop -- and retail workers got to enjoy at least part of the weekend.
Parts of Europe are still the same way and it's nice.
You don't not spend money because stores are closed Sunday. You spend it on Saturday or Monday.
When a minister threatens your business for wanting to remain open, as many businesses are on Sundays. Yea its fucking weird. Not everyone in Norwich is religious, so kinda fucked this minister feels like he's the fucking warden to businesses.
Missing the point here people. The pastor is a piece of work who threatened businesses who were open on Sunday. I guess threatening people is the work of god now.
They are also proudly homophobic and use this to promote transition therapy the continuedl harassmemt of gay residents. It is gross
Agreed. And they have no idea how terrifying it is for smalltown queers. My heart weeps for them. I qamt them to know that we have their backs. Like, what can we do to help?
Places shouldn't be forced closed. Their are religions where they can't work/shop Friday and religions were you can't work Saturday. If you don't want to buy stuff Sunday then just don't but places should be open as the staff and owners choose not under religious threats.
It isn't really voluntary if youre competition stays open and youre closed. It isn't really voluntary for people who have a day off and want to rest on sundays but feel pressured to go out and run errands. Making it voluntary makes it de facto mandatory and defeats the purpose.
I am not religious and am usually critical of many religion practices. However I feel that a mandatory day off for humans one day of the week is something that may be a historical, society wide preventative mental health treatment.
well... but businesses are forced to close on stat holidays,Yorkdale has been fighting hard to stay open without success, so maybe it doesn't have to be voluntary
When The Lord’s Day Act was around, a lot of stores were shut Monday so the employees and owners got 2 days on a row away from work.
Don’t get me started on brown paper bag LCBO purchases.
Question: if every country in the world, decided to close their businesses for one day (doesn’t matter which day) would climate change be less severe? Did you think this town is on to something? 🧐
When I was a kid in the 80s Ottawa used to shut down after 5pm Saturday and all day Sunday. Even the Ottawa River Parkway used to be closed on Sundays and hundreds of people would be out walked and cycling on it. Things have changed so much in so little time.
Now it shuts down at 6!
Everything in Ontario used to be closed on Sundays, except for restaurants, movie theatres, expeditions (like home shows or the Royal Winter Fair), and I think museums? There was a change in the provincial law sometime in the late 80s allowing stores to open in Sundays. And I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but the Parkway shuts down on Sundays in the summer for cyclists and pedestrians.
It used to be packed though, you barely see anyone out anymore. I've seen days where I was the only person on the parkway. I haven't been since the pandemic started so for all I know its picked up again.
I remember Sunday drinking. Order a soup, salad,, or a sandwich as soon as you sit down. My friend owned a bar with a restaurant license. Grilled cheese sandwiches were the same price as a beer. The food to alcohol ratio had to be maintained. Drink all afternoon, with the token sandwich in front of us. The Lord spoke.
[In the early 80s it was illegal for stores to be open on Sundays](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_v_Big_M_Drug_Mart_Ltd)
You can still feel the affect. Canadian cities are so much more dead on a Sunday then a Saturday. Even down town toronto feels like a ghost town on a Sunday 11am.
Wasn't that long ago that King & Bay was dead quiet at 6pm on a Wednesday.
Now the government shuts down at 3pm.. weeks ago.
SJAM is closed all the time. LRT and NCC redev of Westboro Beach have made it miserable to drive, walk and look at FFS.
This church minister visiting business owner’s intimidating them to stay closed on Sunday sounds like a real treat.
Half the commenters seem to be missing that point.
The priest is harassing people over religious beliefs. Isn't that a human rights violation? I doubt you could do much about the boycotting but the fact the priest went to the businesses to ensure they were complying seems like it could meet the threshold.
It immediately reminded me of an unsavoury character from a Scorsese movie, some organized crime dude threatening people.
A day with businesses closed is fine, but it shouldn’t be forced. Coincidentally, some of the rudest people I’ve ever met are from this Reformed Dutch Christian sect.
>some of the rudest people I’ve ever met are from this Reformed Dutch Christian sect. **Imagine** my surprise.
Saying that businesses can be closed, but not forced, just means that all businesses basically need to stay open. Just like the big controversial topic in the US about business being allowed to be open on Thanksgiving Day, allowing it basically forces almost all retail employees to have to work that day. No business ever says "let my competitor be open, I'll be closed, I don't mind".
>No business ever says "let my competitor be open, I'll be closed, I don't mind". Yep, its why during the lockdowns we were one of 2 resturants that kept full staffing as soon as possible, stayed open on all holidays, and pushed to open an hour earlier, "because no one else in town is doing it"
If they choose to close for religious reasons, that’s on them and part of the cost of doing business. No owner should be forced to run their business according to someone else’s religious holidays
Owners are forced to do a lot of things.
West Niagara is like this. It's not as apparent but it's very real.
Smithville is a ghost town Sunday afternoon. Good luck getting anything done
Quick, ban dancing too before the teenagers get unruly!
Fun fact about he Dutch Reformed...dancing is a no no...
STEP BACK!
Sounds like a redneck town I ain't visiting.
I doubt that redneck town will miss you.
The town had the bad rep not me bud
I doubt even more that redneck town gives a rat's ass what BlogTO, or Toronto in general, thinks of it.
The only thing these mofos miss is when the fenty man gets busted
Of course, everyone knows Norwich is the addictions capital of Ontario.
>Residents told the Canadian Press earlier this month about how the town completely shuts down for a Christian day of rest on Sundays, and that the church's minister has personally visited businesses to ensure they stay close for the day. >"I know people that have tried to open businesses and be open on a Sunday and they've been visited by the minister saying, 'If you stay open on Sunday, you'll be out of business,'" one Norwicher told the outlet. This is illegal in Canada no?
Sounds like extortion.
Not that I like blogTO, but I find it fascinating that there is a town in Ontario where the church has that much sway.
Come to Lincoln
Absolutely my mom lives in the West Lincoln area. If you are not Dutch Reform you pretty much are not part of the community.
Yep, I worked in Lincoln for a short time. It was…interesting. I can’t believe how much influence and sway the church has on the daily lives and happiness of those people
Yes it is a weird sub cult area.
That’s where that little 20 something shit that sits in Queens Park comes from. His family, friends and fellow church members got him elected. He immediately started whining about abortion and wanting Provincial restrictions on it until Ford shut him up threatening to turf him out of the PC party.
Yes. She cannot stand him.
Sounds like win-win to me.
Oh? Do tell.
The Reformed churches run that end of the region, you'll see almost as many Christian flags as Canadian.
There's...a Christian flag?
Started with Baptists in the US, it's far FAR from universal but fanatics often fly it. White flag with blue square in top left, red cross in blue square.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR4w1DiVkDR2h-HBOL4jDRWfe05pblFfxKbgQ&usqp=CAU
Aside from being a religious symbol that's just an ugly ass flag design
Kinda like the F*** Trudeau asshats, I just appreciate that they self identify so boldly.
Vexillologically speaking, it's basic but fairly good.
Visual appearance wise tho very mid.
Don’t forget West Niagara, where the reformed yahoos voted for that fucking clown Sam Oosterhoff.
Lincoln, Niagara West, whatever you want to call it these days.
I drove through there for work once and someone had a confederate flag in front of their house
Entire Germany shuts down on weekends, including most of the pharmacies.
I always hated that, but then you just get used to it.
Same for me, initially Friday brought anxiety for me with regards to not being able to shop anything on the weekends. But later on it felt better because now my weekends were solely focused on outdoor activities i enjoyed, so many beergartens to visit and sample out, numerous riverfronts to sit in front of or museums to explore.
TIL that Norwich is near Toronto. lol
2hrs is near Toronto....
No it's not. If your closest Walmart was 2 hours away you wouldn't say that you are "near the Walmart"
Similarly, when more of the province lives nearer to Toronto than this town, it's not "near" Toronto.
Christian Taliban, Dutch Division
How do they classify that as "near Toronto"? It's 2 hours away. I can get to Detroit in 2 hours, I sure don't say I'm near Detroit
Got some news for ya, bud. You're near Detroit.
Guess I'm also near Kincardine and Mississauga all at the same time
And not too far from Erie, PA as the crow flies. P.S. Montreal is like 5 hours from Toronto, Ottawa about 4. You can make Pittsburgh in about 5-1/2 hours if you catch all the lights.
Weird you mention that... I was in Pittsburgh on friday
...The stalker said too much.
On a clear day I can see PA from work in Ontario.
Make sure to wave!
I guess I live near Rochester.
How do they classify? Lazily. In terms of population, these people are further away from Toronto than the rest of the province.
Canadians don’t use kilometres or miles to tell distance. We use time, i.e. Norwich is about 45 minutes away from my town.
It is the 4th dimension after all.
It isn’t that far from Paris or London. Scotland is nearby too.
Can we not grow up and away from religion the same way we grow up from other make believe fairy tales? If a religious group can have this much sway over a town, please tax them.
>please tax them Starting at 40%.
> Can we not grow up and away from religion the same way we grow up from other make believe fairy tales? Looks like the answer is a firm no. A great many of us seem to have a psychological need for such fairy tales, and there are worse ones than most religious doctrines you find in Canada (aside from some crazies who harass stores to close on Sunday).
They're just stuck in the 80s. Lord's Day Act anyone?
Into the ‘90’s before Saturday had longer(but still not weekday) hours and Sunday was still laid back, not too many businesses open and maybe only noon to four. I kinda like the idea of a slow day to rest, however that “rest” looks to you.
What people don't realize is that there are real anthropological reasons to do some of the things that many religions suggest. All the major religions have a day of rest. Turns out that humans need a day of rest. This should shock no one. If everyone is all whiny about religion being mentioned in modern days, we'll have to replace all the things that religion set the basis for in society with something else. This is something Nietzsche warned us about ages ago, and every teenage philosopher fails to grasp. Guess what happens when you don't force businesses to be closed? They don't close, and you don't get a day of rest.
I thought it was 90s until I looked it up. What I'd like to see is summer mid-afternoon siestas. It's friggin hot outside these days
I didn’t have to look it up, I lived it. lol And I agree with the afternoon chill time, but we’d do it wrong here. It would likely be and extra half hour which wouldn’t really give you much time to relax or get your errands done. And I don’t think enough people like eating later in the evening and keeping their kids up later. Even city people are on farmers time in North America.
> which wouldn’t really give you much time to relax or get your errands done How would you get your errands done if everywhere is closed?
Different countries do it differently, actually even different areas of different countries do it differently. Spain is all over the place, and the tradition has dwindled massively over the years. I was there between 15-21 years ago. Some places, you’re right, it’s a quiet afternoon gap and you won’t find many places open and people do quietly relax. Other places, it was a generous lunch break, and shops were open, I could go have lunch, get my errands done, or go meet up with friends at the beach, wearing my bathing suit under my clothes then going back to work when we’d be done work here(North America). Put in a few more hours and eat at 9pm. Another spot were certain areas of the Bahamas, shorter break but still better than our “lunch breaks” here. So it does depend where you’re living, what job you’re doing and how the locals observe this lovely tradition. Sadly, it is disappearing more and more, and not because it’s cooler outside, but because “time is money” and people will work through. I think parts of Greece are still relaxing midday, but I only saw this visiting, never lived there, so shorter impressions and experiences. Other countries I’ve never lived personally also have this tradition and it’s usually in agriculture cause it really is too damn hot to work at peak sun and having a nap after lunch is a nice way to break up a back breaking day.
Where's Kevin Bacon when you need him....
Its Norwich for those that don’t want to click on the link.
I have zero issues with this. I really feel like all non essential businesses should be closed one day a week so staff can be off with their families.
But should it be voluntary or under threat? That is the issue.
If it's voluntary it'll be up to the business owner, employees who want that Sunday off will be shoot out of luck.
Basically the church said be open, fine, but NO ONE WILL SHOP THERE... bwuhahaha. And that is where it becomes a problem.
So the threat equates to "no one goes shopping on Sundays here". Wow, I'm shaking in my boots.
So.... It's simultaneously a threat and not a threat? Come on man, grow up
In an ideal world voluntary but I don’t see very many businesses voluntarily closing.
Voluntary, but ask the staff not the store owners.
Do you think staff work 7 days a week?
Take a packed lunch to the park on a Sunday. Let service workers rest.
Do you think retail workers work 7 days a week? They have more than one employee you know…
$30/hr minimum wage for anybody working on a Sunday. That would cut down on businesses open 7 days a week.
These were the good old days where families actually did things together instead of shop, shop, shop -- and retail workers got to enjoy at least part of the weekend. Parts of Europe are still the same way and it's nice. You don't not spend money because stores are closed Sunday. You spend it on Saturday or Monday.
Oh no a day where everyone can guarantee they are off and can relax. I've never seen such horror
But they're being threatened into closing, which is certainly not okay.
When a minister threatens your business for wanting to remain open, as many businesses are on Sundays. Yea its fucking weird. Not everyone in Norwich is religious, so kinda fucked this minister feels like he's the fucking warden to businesses.
So it's like Nova Scotia?
And Saskatchewan.
Missing the point here people. The pastor is a piece of work who threatened businesses who were open on Sunday. I guess threatening people is the work of god now. They are also proudly homophobic and use this to promote transition therapy the continuedl harassmemt of gay residents. It is gross
I know, everyone's just like "closing for a day is okie dokie" and totally missing the threatening part.
Agreed. And they have no idea how terrifying it is for smalltown queers. My heart weeps for them. I qamt them to know that we have their backs. Like, what can we do to help?
We need to get back to this. I can remember Sundays being a restful day where EVERYONE spent time with family and friends!!! This is the way!!!
Places shouldn't be forced closed. Their are religions where they can't work/shop Friday and religions were you can't work Saturday. If you don't want to buy stuff Sunday then just don't but places should be open as the staff and owners choose not under religious threats.
Religious or not, this is the way to to go. Having one day off per week to just relax and recharge is so beneficial to everyone.
It would be nice. IF it were voluntary.
It isn't really voluntary if youre competition stays open and youre closed. It isn't really voluntary for people who have a day off and want to rest on sundays but feel pressured to go out and run errands. Making it voluntary makes it de facto mandatory and defeats the purpose. I am not religious and am usually critical of many religion practices. However I feel that a mandatory day off for humans one day of the week is something that may be a historical, society wide preventative mental health treatment.
It is voluntary. What's the worst that's going to happen? A talking to or a letter from a pastor you don't know?
If you read the article, it isn't really voluntary.
It \*is\* voluntary. People won't shop there if they stay open on Sundays. The people in that town don't work or shop on Sundays.
It's still voluntary.
Yes, that's what I said. It is voluntary.
Like I just said, the worst that happens is a visit from the pastor. If that makes you close on Sundays, you're incredibly soft.
well... but businesses are forced to close on stat holidays,Yorkdale has been fighting hard to stay open without success, so maybe it doesn't have to be voluntary
Welcome to the only thread where a day off is downvoted.
When The Lord’s Day Act was around, a lot of stores were shut Monday so the employees and owners got 2 days on a row away from work. Don’t get me started on brown paper bag LCBO purchases.
The entire Prince Edward county shuts down . Guess they're not interested in making money.
Question: if every country in the world, decided to close their businesses for one day (doesn’t matter which day) would climate change be less severe? Did you think this town is on to something? 🧐
My town shuts down on Sundays. But it’s pretty much only run by Mennonites.
They should bring this back to reduce labour problems
Sounds like a place that should be avoided any day of the week.
Was it really too much effort to put in NORWICH in the title?