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The Toronto Eaton Centre will be open for business on Easter Sunday starting in 2013, the downtown shopping hub announced Tuesday.

The centre — which is a designated tourist destination, exempting it from holiday-hour bylaws — is the first mall in Toronto to open on the Easter holiday. It will adhere to standard Sunday holiday hours, from noon until 5 p.m.

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Spokeswoman Meredith Vlitas said the decision was part of a “massive revitalization” of the shopping centre, which will now be open 364 days a year, closed only on Christmas Day.

“It’s our responsibility to offer the utmost convenience to Torontonians and visitors to our city, [and] because of the multicultural nature of the city of Toronto, there are many people who view current religious holidays as secular,” Ms. Vlitas said, citing “extensive discussions” with tenants, shoppers and neighbouring communities.

There are no plans to look at opening the Eaton Centre on Christmas. A lighting ceremony is planned next month for the centre’s new 50-foot Christmas tree, which replaces the traditional “crystal wish tree,” Ms. Vlitas added.

The scheduling change comes as the city examines the possibility of allowing other retailers to open on a number of statutory holidays, including Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day and Thanksgiving Day.