Jeff Burgar

After hearing announcements Canada will soon get a new national, statutory holiday, do we all “feel good” about this great news?

Are you getting warm vibes? Do you glow in the happy feelings of another day off? A day everybody will be paid for. A day during which you will of course be spending more time with friends and family, improving your mental outlook, exercising, relaxing, all the things one does on a holiday. Well, hold your horses.

To start, this “stat holiday” only applies to federal employees, not everybody. So federal government employees get another paid holiday. This goes along with all the other holidays, paid leaves, sick leaves, and benefits they already get. This includes gold-plated pension, gold-plated pay checks, and seemingly gold-plated security in jobs, meaning you can’t get fired no matter how much of a goof-up you are.

It’s unclear exactly who is a “federal” employee who will get another day off. Do crown corporations, like Canada Post, count? Like the mail delivery person and his bosses in London, Ontario complaining a customer’s front porch step is unsafe. It’s 10 1/4 inches high instead of the “code” regulation of 8 1/4 inches. Meanwhile, the owner of the steps, a 96-year old lady, climbs these same steps every day. Seriously, are all these employees deserving of yet another day off? With pay?

RCMP? We’re already faced with bloated office staff in our national police force. Police spend outrageous time in court due to a legal system geared to finding new ways to push paper instead of dispensing justice. Now Alberta RCMP will no longer respond to “single alarms” – motion alarms that go off by themselves but not backed up by a second alarm. The reasoning is, RCMP are already so over-worked, responding to such usually false alarms is a waste of scarce resources. So of course, let’s give these workers another paid day off. Ignore the double or triple-time payments for working on stats. Which really means even more stressed out budgets, and all the other reductions in service that will soon grow from this holiday.

Also, consider the reason for this new holiday – it’s to apologize for and remember the suffering caused by residential schools. Maybe this is a good idea. Maybe not.

Most of Canada’s Veterans are against a statutory national holiday for Remembrance Day. Reasoning is, people treat it like a day to “kick back” instead of observing respectful tribute to those who served. Maybe indigenous people will react the same way. Maybe not.

Holidays are not free. Holidays reduce production. Holidays cost industries. Small and family businesses, like restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores are hit the hardest. Usually, they end up working themselves, as they are unable to pay the wages due on statutory holidays.

Many Canadians are already saying, an apology for reconciliation that actually involved something serious, like clean drinking water or an improvement in living conditions, is more meaningful. But, in the twisted minds of the Trudeau leadership, holidays are “feel goody” so must be just wonderful.