Please allow me space in the valuable columns of your newspaper to categorically state my position on the Sunday Trading Law. Let me preface my comments by making it clear that, although I attend church on Sundays and am a born-again Christian, my views are not entirely based on religious grounds.
Originally the Sunday Trading Law, 1960 (Law 7 of 1960) and (Law 10 of 1963) made provision for only the bare essentials being allowed for sale on Sunday, Good Friday and Christmas Day – items such as milk, bread, ice, newspapers, motor fuel or oils, medicines, meals and a few others which were considered absolutely necessary to meet the needs of the general public.
As our islands grew and developed, various governments of the day, quite rightly, saw the need to cater to our developing tourism industry. Over the years, additional exceptions were therefore provided for in the law to other local businesses that were needed to meet the demands of our visitors and residents. Since 1960, these amendments/changes to the law have resulted in at least 20 different categories of businesses not subject to the Sunday Trading Law.
In view of the foregoing, I do not accept that it has now become necessary to make any further changes to our Sunday Trading Law and hereby protest any proposals for change in the strongest possible terms.
Earlier this year, our government celebrated Heroes Day with the theme “Honouring Cultural Heritage,” and in my considered opinion there is nothing that forms an integral part of Cayman’s culture and heritage more than maintaining the status quo on our Sunday Trading Law. Traditionally, families and friends attend church and gather on Sundays, Christmas Days and Good Fridays to commune and spend quality time together, which has become such a rare commodity given the busy workweek. Our already overburdened road system and weary staff earn a much-needed break from the hustle and bustle that life in the Cayman Islands has become.
Finally, Cayman does not need to be like everywhere else. We do not need to open the floodgates any wider; we do not need to allow greed and a quest for the last dollar to change every single thing about the Cayman Islands that older generations like myself wish to see preserved.
Thank you, Mr. Editor, and I trust that this will somehow help to preempt any further changes to the current Sunday Trading Law.
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