Sports & Play
February Family Day: Tips for a New Ontario Holiday
It's official. With the introduction of "Family Day" on the third Monday of February, Ontario joins Alberta and Saskatchewan (and possible Manitoba) in celebration. But this is an entire new concept for us Ontario folk. What are we do to on this special day?
Here are some suggestions of things to do on the inaugural and all subsequent Family Day long weekends in the upcoming years.
If you happen to like your family (and they like you):
- Make hot chocolate and play board games. Clue and Monopoly come to mind. And Charades.
- Watch Family Ties, Swiss Family Robinson, and other retro sitcoms on DVD.
- Tell the same stories that come up at every family-oriented holiday.
- Make up an elaborate meal, but not turkey. I nominate pizza. Each family member decorates and eats a section of the pie.
- Go through old photo albums and reminisce about the good times you've had in the past.
- Build a snowman together, or better yet a snowfamily that mirrors your own family.
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If you don't like your family, don't have one, or have an odd one:
- Head down to Buffalo to take advantage of the most excellent President's Day sales.
- Locate and hang out with a much better family.
- Walk around the neighbourhood looking like a sad puppy and see how many families invite you in. Sniffling and whimpering helps.
- Convince the family to do a polar bear dip in Lake Ontario. Count down from ten, run as a group, and bail just before you hit the water. Laugh at them as they shiver with hypothermia.
- Do what they've been doing out in the prairies provinces since Family Day began there in 1990 - make out.
- In the cover of darkness, hunt down and destroy snowfamilies.
Whatever you choose to do on Family Day, we hope you enjoy the new February long weekend (one of 9 we get each year)!
Feel free to share more ideas by commenting below.
UPDATE (January 7th, 2008):
Results of our reader poll show that a large majority welcome this new holiday, despite the inherent problems some employees will experience.
(Photo: Duane_Brown)
Discussion
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I dig the photo - didn't know there were some of the 14th St./8th Ave. NYC subway creatures in Toronto!
There goes our taxpayer money once again, going to pay gov employees for yet another day off. Don't they already get every second friday off?? Oh what a wonderful world, wonderful Canada, wonderful Liberals once again.... Oyyyyy
Thanks Dalton
In answer to Adrian's comments, private industry and businesses won't die by adding one holiday in the year. Give it rest.
What is wrong with actually working and earning an honest pay?!
as for those that have floater days that they now have to give up, cry me a river. i'm definitely not in the lower end of the pay bracket, but i don't get 'floater' days to use. i get my standard 3 weeks of vacation, that seem to go VERY quickly. this additional holiday will surely help tie me over between Christmas/New Years, until Easter. now i won't have to burn one of my 15 vacation days, to get a day of much needed rest.
as for earning an honest pay? what the hell does that have to do with anything? if you work 365 days a year, you're CRAZY!!! and i can't be responsible for that. that's your own perogative. if you only work monday-friday, why don't you work on the weekends? what's wrong with you? aren't you a hard worker?
please!
The people who are that desperate for money probably would've appreciated something like a raise in the minimum wage more than a Family Board Game Day, though.
As for the comment that small businesses won't suffer, I beg to disagree. Unless you are a small business owner / manager you have no idea what the actual impact of another day they are being forced to be closed AND pay their full time staff wages and salaries.
Why don't we just take back the 'old ways' and close up shop on the weekends?! Because we are all too busy on the weekends to spend any quality time with our families? Why do so many people over schedule their lives that they need a day off work to relax?!
SO, even though some of the work force will be home and perhaps spending time with family, I will be here working AND I will have to pay our day care provider for the day off, I will also have to find someone else to care for my children and pay them as well.
So not only will I be away from my family, I'll be spending even more to have someone else care for them...
Is this a Stat holiday or not!?!?
I totally agree with you. What is wrong with people today that makes us feel the need to have businesses open 24/7 just for our convenience?! Let people have one day a week that no one has to do anything.
So some will win and some will loose, there are pros and cons to this, so stop being martyrs. Suck it up and live with the consequences some people imposed when they voted liberal. It sucks that I do not get to choose my day off, but I certainly will still enjoy the time (though not extra time since it's time I'd usually get off elsewhere) with my son.
As for the commercial aspect, yes, they are too commercialised, but you have the choice as an idividual to play into it or not. If you don't want it to be commercialised, just don't go shopping or spend money for anything special that day, what is wrong with spending a little quiet time at home?
Families need to spend more time together. Sure there will be a cost associated with it...however, I think that it is money well spent.
I agree with others here say that stores should go back to being closed on Sundays. Stores would be more profitable, and would be able to make up the cost for additional stat holidays.
Happy Family Day
Apparently, if you get more than 9 Stat Holidays, Family Day is not mandatory.
Thank you Dalton McSquinty. /sarcasm
J'aimerais savoir si ce jour f?ri? sera dans les convension gouvernementale dans les ann?es avenir si oui ou je pourrais trouver l'information ? ce sujet?
Merci
Mon francais n'est pas bien, mais je pense que tu veux l'information du "Family Day" ... (et ton accents n'ont pas la.)
Il'y a beaucoup d'information si to vas a Google, et cherchez (Seacrch in english) pour Family Day Ontario .
De Rien
Derek
i support it, but at the same time dont.
Even though i hatethe lieberal party, i support the idea. :) Thankyou Ontario, we live in a wonderful counrty! GOD BLESS CANADA!!
day in a year to your family.specially now a days kids they growing paster.
ppl need to work! not sleep at home!
Dalton, I hope you have a wonderful Family Day and we know that you will not have to worry about being paid.
Sun Life Snowflake Kingdom and Rogers Crystal Garden will be open on February 16, 2009. We will even have a special viewing of the New Winterlude Sound and Light Show.
Family Day in Canada's Capital Region during Winterlude, Canada's winter celebration.
Visit Winterlude.gc.ca
In addition, someone commented about only having one week of vacation ("July" January 16, 2008) and this is against the law. Employers must give you minimally 4% of your wages, or two weeks of vacation per year.
Also with respect to the person commenting on their employer, Rogers, forcing them to use a float day on Family Day, I am uncertain if they are allowed to do this. I would be contacting the Ministry of Labour 416-326-7160 or 1-800-531-5551 and asking them directly.
The Ministry of Labour has a number of options to enforce the ESA, including requesting voluntary compliance, issuing an order to pay wages, an order to reinstate and/or compensate, a notice of contravention, or issuing a ticket or otherwise prosecuting the employer under the Provincial Offences Act (POA).
In the case of prosecutions that are commenced through the issuance of a ticket, the set fine on conviction is $295.
In the case of prosecutions other than those commenced with a ticket, the maximum penalty, if an individual is convicted, is $50,000 or imprisonment for a term of not more than 12 months or both. If a corporation is convicted, the maximum fine is $100,000 for a first offence, $250,000 if the corporation has one previous conviction and $500,000 if the corporation has more than one previous conviction.
or:
http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/family/index.html
Don't be affraid to stand up to your "Boss"...
the emotional impact and the power of that word and concept boggles the mind because family means something different to each one of us nowadays!
i have a long distance family and sometimes it's lonely without them but it is also peaceful and liberating without them too!
i have a welcome mat that says: friends welcome; family by appointment only!
Since Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba (along with 5 other provinces) have the first monday in August as that "special statutory holiday", other provincial holidays have no force in effect. In other words, it is up to businesses (not provincially controlled) to decide whether or not to give the day off to employees. By the way, in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, who have had this Family Day before Ontario got into the act, saw a majority of their citizens report to work as "business as usual".
It is an empty holiday - has no force to be recognized. If you want a stat holiday, ask the Federal Government to fully proclaim Heritage Day (same day as the pseudo Family Day). Heritage Day would be a federal government holiday and therefore, a stat holiday.
Sorry, government employees do not get the day off, get no premium pay. It is another work day.
Hmmm.. why is it new Canadian holidays seem to be piggy backed onto American holidays? Is it to attract potential American tourists on their days off? If so, what are we doing to capitalize on the next piggy backed holiday?