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Shopping on Sundays was illegal until this Calgary drug mart fought a $40 fine to the Supreme Court

40 years since the fight that freed Sunday shopping: A look at the case that overturned the "Lord's Day" law

Next year marks the 40th anniversary of one of Canada's most important legal cases, which overhauled Sunday shopping laws.

In 1982, a Big M drugstore in southeast Calgary was raided by police while it was open on a Sunday. Housed in an old supermarket building, the store was more than just a pharmacy, selling everything from party supplies to groceries.

At the time, shopping on Sundays was illegal under a federal law known as the "Lord's Day Act"; A law that was rooted in Christian values ​​and defined Sunday as a day of rest. Despite this, many customers visited this store after the church service.

The owners of the pharmacy, Nancy Lockhart and her partner Michael Lasrado, decided to challenge the law rather than pay the small fines.

Legal challenge

In the same year, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into force and for the first time there was an opportunity to challenge this law. A young lawyer named Tim Boyle took on the case, arguing that the law violated religious freedom.

After several years of legal wrangling, the case reached the Supreme Court of Canada. Ultimately, the court ruled that the "Lord's Day Act" was inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and struck it down.

Effects

This decision was a turning point in Canadian legal history and defined religious freedom in a broader sense; Freedom from the imposition of religious principles by the government.

Nancy Lockhart, co-founder of Big M Pharmacy, describes the victory as an unforgettable moment and continues to believe that the government should not exert too much control over people's lives.

However, the debate over Sunday shopping continued for years, and provincial laws were gradually repealed in the 1990s.

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