Aug. 31, 1982: Sunday shopping in Edmonton breaks 76-year-old law
The Brick and other shops find ways to sell on Sundays
Not so long ago, shopping on a Sunday in Alberta was against the law.
But in 1982, some retailers — including The Brick — began opening doors to Sunday customers.
Instead of finalizing the sale of your freezer or waterbed on a Sunday, businesses would create an "offer to purchase" that wouldn't receive approval until Monday morning.
By not completing the sale until Monday, The Brick wasn't technically breaking the law.
But the practice still caught the attention of Neil Crawford, Alberta's attorney general.
"Under the Lord's Day Act, the offence is the offering for sale," Crawford said.
Dating back to 1906, the Lord's Day Act was a federal law that prohibited sport, entertainment and most commerce in Canada on Sundays.
Penalties for violating the law ranged from $40 for an individual to $500 for a corporation with a repeat conviction.
But stores and shopping centres, like Leon's and West Edmonton Mall, followed The Brick's lead by opening on Sunday anyway.
The Lord's Day Act was struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada on April 24, 1985, on the grounds that it violated the freedom of religion and conscience provision in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
But the "Open Sundays" signs hung from The Brick windows in Edmonton were a familiar sight 34 years ago.
CBC's Harry Nuttall explains the controversial practice in this Newsday report from Aug. 31, 1982.