Yep. The Liberals won a majority in Wednesday’s election in Ontario, and one of the first things the Premier did was to sign a Order-in-Council to create a new statutory holiday.
Family Day will now take place on the third Monday in February, starting on February 18, 2008. It’s just after St. Valentine’s Day, which seems appropriate.
I thought someone would have had to vote on it or something.
Luckily, my employer gave us Family Day off as well as all of the other stat holidays, at no loss of pay (in Alberta and NWT). I loved working for a family business.
In the NWT, I believe that day is called Aboriginal Day. Why not? Aboriginals have families, too.
Does this mean that we will see Family Day cards in the stores, and Family Day decorations, and people will start putting their Family Day lights up earlier and earlier, until they collide with Christmas, and just never take the Christmas lights down?
I’m cool with it. I’m salaried so the paid-holiday part of it doesn’t concern me, but I’m all for another day of not having to work for it.
Fiscally – well, crap. If Austrian business can get away with 35 annual vacation days for its employees, I’m sure we’ll survive one extra statutory holiday.
Another holiday Monday, another stat I won’t get to work. I work a 7 shift out of 14 rotation, and another nurse has the balance. She works every Monday and Tuesday, I work every Thursday and Friday, with Wednesdays and weekends alternating. I get none of the Monday stat holidays. This will make 6 holidays she naturally gets, versus 1 I get, and five depending on how they fall in the calander. That being said, if you work Christmas, you work New Years, so… guess who never gets stats.
I dont mind having Christmas off, or Thanksgiving, but when its days that I wouldnt do anything in particular… (no Victoria Day commitments here!) I would really like a chance to work for double time and a half. Drat. I still get time off, but no chance to make some extra coin.