set the record straight on Family Day[edit] Canada
Officially there is no a federally-established Family Day, although such date is established provincially on the third Monday each February.
[edit] Alberta
It is celebrated on the third Monday in February[1] each year, thereby coinciding with the US holiday Presidents Day. The holiday was first celebrated in 1990. Alberta was the only province in Canada to have a statutory holiday in February, until it was proposed in Saskatchewan beginning in 2007.
The holiday was proclaimed by Lieutenant Governor Helen Hunley, on the advice of her premier, Don Getty, in response to a drug scandal involving the premier's son, Dale Getty, who had been arrested for possession of cocaine and was revealed to have cocaine addiction. Premier Getty was embarrassed by the revelation, and admitted publicly that he had neglected his family, saying that it was also important for all Albertans to take more care with their families.[1]
Getty came in for considerable criticism at the time. Many people felt he had abused his position to compensate for his feelings of guilt with respect to his own family. Also, many employers felt that an additional statutory holiday was an unnecessary fiscal burden. In response to the criticism, the holiday of Heritage Day was downgraded to a civic holiday, meaning employers are not required to observe this day. Under Alberta law, the employer may choose to observe Heritage Day as a general holiday, under which rules applying to general holiday pay will be used.[2]
[edit] Manitoba
In February 2007, it was reported that the Manitoba government was also considering a February holiday. Legislation proclaiming the third Monday in February as a statutory holiday was passed by Manitoba's Legislative Assembly on April 17, 2007. The day is to be known as Louis Riel Day, a name suggested by Manitoba school students in honour of the Métis leader regarded as the Father of Manitoba. The first Louis Riel Day was February 18, 2008. [3]
[edit] Ontario
Ontario's Family Day takes place on the third Monday of February and it is a statutory holiday. It was established on October 11, 2007, following the 2007 fall Ontario election campaign when Premier Dalton McGuinty was re-elected, and the first one was on February 18, 2008.[4] Its creation raised Ontario's number of public holidays to nine per year.[5] However since it is not recognized at the Federal level, all Federal employees (such as public servants) still work on this day.
[edit] Saskatchewan
In October 2006, Saskatchewan's Premier proposed the holiday for the province, beginning in 2007.[6] The bill for the Labour Standards Amendment Act, 2006, was introduced in the legislature on November 1, 2006, and received Royal Assent on December 6.[7] The act officially declares the third Monday of each February Family Day and came into effect immediately;[8] the first Family Day in Saskatchewan was February 19, 2007.
The overall effect in annual days off remains unchanged for many, as Easter Monday is no longer considered a holiday by private businesses. Businesses suggested it might cost them as much as $140 million a year for this new holiday, and have requested tax breaks to soften the economic impact. The Saskatchewan government has given $95-million corporate tax cuts, but most of the companies benefiting have adjusted the official days off such that the annual allotment remains exactly the same.[citation needed]