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As Good Friday approaches, many shop owners will have to decide whether to close on the statutory holiday or open up and as a result, break a provincial law.

One local owner who defied the law last year said keeping stores closed during the pandemic would be the wrong thing to do.

Finance Minister Scott Fielding introduced the Retail Business Hours of Operation Act in November.

The legislation, which would allow stores to open on statutory holidays, has yet to pass. Currently, the law requires most stores to close on statutory holidays, including Good Friday. Many store chains will close as well.

Munther Zeid, who owns the local grocery chain Food Fare, is no stranger to the law. He was hit with a $10,000 fine when he decided to open one of his outlets on Good Friday in 2019. At the time, he said he regularly kept his stores open on statutory holidays and never received a phone call, much less a fine.

The province later dropped the fine.

Zeid said he had heard the provincial government was hoping to have the legislation in effect before this holiday weekend, but the pandemic delayed its legislative agenda.

"Pre-coronavirus, I was hoping that they would make the change, and it’s possible that the change was maybe going to come through but with all this that’s going on, it’s delayed things," he said.

"The community, not just us, needs a lot of services open," he said.

Shoppers who want to prepare for the holiday, while maintaining social distancing, will face additional restrictions in stores, including one-way aisles. They will need extra time to shop, Zeid said.

"You have an epidemic happening, you have a religious holiday coming up. People, I believe, considering everything that’s going on, are going to try and make the best out of this holiday season," he said.

"Even though they might not be able to get more family around the table, they’re going to try to have the best food they have this holiday season just to have a bit of sanity. So services are required."

Zeid says closing isn’t a financial reality for store owners.

"Considering the current conditions, to be closed two days in the week, I don’t think any store is ready for it."

Food Fare has "really not decided" whether they will honour the requirement to close this year, but workers will be able to refuse to work should Food Fare open stores, Zeid said.

Zeid said either way, he wouldn’t be surprised to see other businesses skirt the law by opening on the two holidays.

"I think you’re going to see a lot more places open this particular holiday to meet the demands of the community," he said.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: malakabas_