Family Day

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Family Day is the name of a public holiday in South Africa, in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan, in the American state of Arizona, in Vanuatu, in Việt Nam and (as "Family & Community Day") in the Australian Capital Territory.

Contents 1 Australia 1.1 Australian Capital Territory 2 Canada 2.1 Province of Alberta 2.2 Province of Ontario 2.3 Province of Saskatchewan 3 South Africa 4 United States 5 Vanuatu 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Australia

[edit] Australian Capital Territory

Family & Community Day is celebrated on the first Tuesday of November, which coincides with the Melbourne Cup. This public holiday was declared in 2007 under section 3(1)(b) of the Holidays Act 1953 (ACT) and was expected to be declared again in 2008. In his speech to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, Mr. Andrew Barr, the ACT Minister for Industrial Relations stated the purpose of the new public holiday was:

"...to enable workers to take a break from their hectic working lives and to spend some quality time with their family and friends. ... Australians do work the longest hours of any country in the western world. We do deserve a break."^[1]

[edit] Canada

Officially there is no federally-established Family Day, although such a date is established by some provinces as a statutory holiday on the third Monday each February thereby coinciding with the US holiday Presidents Day.

National Family Week is put on each year by the Canadian Association of Family Resource Programs, a non-profit organization. It is not a statutory holiday, but is generally recognized and celebrated by community organizations across the country.

In the Province of Manitoba, a holiday coinciding with Family Day in Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan is Louis Riel Day.^[2]

In the province of Newfoundland & Labrador, the third Monday of February is a school board holiday, but not an official provincial holiday.

As Family Day is not currently recognized in the federal sphere, federal employees in all provinces (such as public servants and postal workers) still work on this day (or take a vacation day).

[edit] Province of Alberta

The holiday^[3] 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. Premier Getty said it was important for all Albertans to take time for their families and this holiday would emphasize the importance of family values.^[4]

Getty came in for considerable criticism at the time. 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.^[5]

[edit] Province of Ontario

Ontario's Family Day takes place on the third Monday of February and is a statutory holiday. After Dalton McGuinty's appointment as premier was supported by the election in 2007 of the Liberal Party to a majority in the Legislative Assembly, McGuinty advised the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario David Onley to establish Family Day on 11 October 2007, with the first being observed on 18 February 2008. Its creation raised Ontario's number of public holidays to nine per year,^[6] Unionized workers whose collective agreements do not yet include this holiday will continue to work on Family Day.

[edit] Province of Saskatchewan

In October 2006, Saskatchewan's Premier proposed the holiday for the province, beginning in 2007.^[7] 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.^[8] The act officially declares the third Monday of each February Family Day and came into effect immediately;^[9] 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]}

[edit] South Africa

After 1995, Easter Monday was renamed Family Day.^[10] In 2007, it was observed on April 9.^[11]

[edit] United States

American Family Day is a state holiday in Arizona and has been celebrated on the first Sunday in August since 1978.^[12] American Family Day is a party planner for corporations in the contiguous United States founded in 1985 in Marietta, GA.

[edit] Vanuatu

Family Day in Vanuatu is celebrated annually on December 27 as a day on which school and work are suspended in order to spend the day giving thanks for and enjoying time with one's family, often by engaging in civic and religious events and a festive meal.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Family day in Ontario