By The Times-Journal
and Canadian Press

Three St. Thomas grocery stores opened for business and were charged with contravening the Ontario Retail Business Holidays Act by City Police.

A and P Food Store, 780 Talbot Street, and Loblaws Superstore Food Warehouse, 295 Wellington Street, have each been charged under the act three consecutive Sundays while IGA Foodliner at Homedale Plaza has been charged the last two.

While local church groups continue to oppose Sunday openings there were no organized protests in St. Thomas Sunday, although church spokesmen said the matter would be up for discussion soon.

The Freedom Party of Ontario, on the other hand, was handing out pamphlets to A and P shoppers encouraging the freedom to choose to shop or not to shop on Sundays.

Ray Monteith of St. Thomas said he was at the store about six hours, handed out about 300 pamphlets and received supportive responses.

"They (Sunday shoppers) don't like government interference with our way of life," Mr. Monteith said, adding he expects pamphlets will be handed out at all three stores next week.

Mr. Monteith said the store was "fairly busy" and about 98 per cent of those he spoke with favored Sunday openings.

Mr. Monteith said "religion needs freedom to operate properly" and the church-and-state combination historically doesn't work, so churches shouldn't be involved in the issue.

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Page last updated on April 28, 2002