For some Canadians, Boxing Day is the time to go shopping and take advantage of post-Christmas discounts from retailers.
As reported in November, it has more recently been pushed aside by Black Friday, a day of deals that is the traditional start of shopping season for Americans. It spread to Canada around 2005, according to reports in the CBC archives.
Back in 1984, though, the day to look for deep discounts was Dec. 26. And stores in some Canadian provinces risked a penalty by opening on the statutory holiday.
“In provinces like Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Ontario, Boxing Day sales are against the law,” said Knowlton Nash, host of CBC’s The National, that day in 1984.
Not much of a deterrent
In Montreal and in Edmonton, shoppers were out in force on Boxing Day. (The National/CBC Archives)
The potential rewards for retailers on Boxing Day were just too great to keep them from obeying the law.
“What this store is doing is illegal,” said reporter Vicki Russell, as the camera captured images of a long queue of people outside a leather-goods store on Toronto’s Yonge Street. “And under Ontario law, it could be fined up to $10,000.”
Manager Al Vancardo was unfazed by the threat.
“We feel if people want to come down, they can come down,” he said. “We don’t care about the laws.”
The store was among “a few dozen” that defied the law, allowing customers in to try, and with any luck, buy their stock of men’s leather jackets at up to 70 per cent off.
Too much business to be timid
Bay Bloor Radio, a stereo store, was open on Boxing Day for the first time in 39 years of business.
“I believe that my staff was being discriminated against,” said owner Sol Mandlsohn, whose store was buzzing with audiophiles.
He had remained closed on Boxing Day the year before and paid the price by being closed when others were open.
By opening, he told the Toronto Star, he was hoping to “test the law and see if it is valid.”
“I think it’s all right. He should be open,” said shopper Ennio Sartori. “I have to work tomorrow so I can’t make it here. Today I took advantage and I came over.”
Was the law ‘useless’?
Russell reported that police had said they would investigate any store that was open on Boxing Day. They had done the same for Boxing Day 1983 and issued warnings, but laid no charges.
According to the Toronto Star, the prohibition against Boxing Day shopping had come into force in 1975. But the day after this report aired, it reported that Ontario’s solicitor general was considering a repeal.
“You never like to see a law so violated that the law is useless,” said George Taylor.
The following year, the Toronto Star reported that 154 stores had been charged with Boxing Day violations.
MTY Food Group Inc. says its profit and revenue both slid in its most recent quarter.
The restaurant franchisor and operator says its net income attributable to owners totalled $34.9 million in its third quarter, compared with $38.9 million a year earlier.
The results for the period ended Aug. 31 amounted to $1.46 per diluted share, down from $1.59 per diluted share a year prior.
The company behind 90 brands including Manchu Wok and Mr. Sub attributed the fall to impairment charges on property, plants and equipment along with intangibles assets.
Its revenue decreased slightly to $292.8 million in the quarter from $298 million a year ago.
While CEO Eric Lefebvre saw the quarter as a sign that the company’s ongoing restructuring is starting to bear fruits, he said the business was also hampered by significant delays in construction and permitting that resulted in fewer locations opening.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
Taiga Motors Corp. says the Superior Court of Québec has approved its sale to a British electric boat entrepreneur.
The Montreal-based maker of snowmobiles and watercraft says it will be purchased by Stewart Wilkinson.
Wilkinson’s family office is behind marine electrification brands that include Vita, Evoy, and Aqua superPower.
Wilkinson and Taiga did not reveal the terms or value of the deal but say Wilkinson will assume Taiga’s debt to Export Development Canada and has committed to funding Taiga’s business plan.
The companies say the transaction will allow them to achieve greater economies of scale and deliver high-performance products at compelling prices to accelerate the electric transition.
The sale comes months after Taiga sought bankruptcy protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act to cope with a cash crunch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
Toronto-Dominion Bank is facing fines totalling about US$3.09 billion from U.S. regulators in connection with failures of its anti-money laundering safeguards.
The bank also received a cease-and-desist order and non-financial sanctions from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that put limits on its growth in the U.S. after it was found that TD had “significant, systemic breakdowns in its transaction monitoring program.”
