[Chad]

Happy Family Day! Huh?

So hopefully by now you've figured out that today is "Family Day", a holiday, meaning that most stores are closed, and you aren't required to go into work. But where did this come from? Well, it was started by Premier Dalton McGuinty for all the hard-working Ontario families who he thinks needs a day to just be together and have a good time. Family Day is a brand new statutory holiday and takes place on the third Monday of every February (this being the first time it's happened).

"There is nothing more valuable to families than time together. And yet it seems tougher than ever to find, with so many of us living such busy lives," McGuinty says. "That's why, on the third Monday of this coming February — and every February from now on — Ontarians deserve a new statutory holiday — Family Day."

If you add Family Day, Ontario workers and families now have a total of nine statutory holidays per year, putting the province on par with Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

In addition, although not recognized as a statutory holiday under the Employment Standards Act, the first Monday in August is observed as a civic holiday in many Ontario municipalities.

Unfortunately Family Day has brought some negativity with it as well, as some small business see Family Day as cutting away from their profits since they now have to pay workers more money to work on this new holiday, or otherwise have to shut down for a day and lose revenue. Also, some businesses have altered their policies so that workers have to give up their civic holiday for this new Family Day holiday (so one just gets replaced with the other and no extra days off are granted).

What do you think about Family Day? Feel free to discuss it in the MacInsiders forum.