Should Remembrance Day be a national holiday?

[Slava]

A private members bill (C 537) seeks to make Rememberance Day a national holiday. I guess it has been voted upon before and not passed. I am surprised by that, but I think it should be a statutory holiday. What do you think?

http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/yourcomm...-audience.html

[Titan]

Yes. It should be.

[PsYcNeT]

With the exception of Xmas, I enjoy that most stats fall on a Monday or a Friday.

This would be impossible with Remembrance Day.

[Hanna Sniper]

it's a joke that it isn't already

[MillerTime GFG]

I believe it should be a national holiday, yes. I'm trying to keep bias aside, because I had a brother that served and was injured in Afghanistan, but it really should be.

He did bring up a good point from the opposition though, and that was children will probably learn more from what that day means by actually going to school. Otherwise, the onus is on the parents to teach them, which I'd argue for the most part, they wouldn't.

[PsYcNeT]

Would be kind of weird to have a declared Stat that could fall on a Saturday.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

With the exception of Xmas, I enjoy that most stats fall on a Monday or a Friday.

This would be impossible with Remembrance Day.

I don't think that is really the point with this. I would like to see a long weekend in June, but the point here is to allow people to go to the cenotaph and pay their respects.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Would be kind of weird to have a declared Stat that could fall on a Saturday.

Why? It happens now. Just get the Monday in lieu.

[PsYcNeT]

Yeah I suppose it happens with New Years and Christmas.

I've always wondered why other provinces don't observe anyway.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

I can't seem to link to the story, but if the reasoning is that it is needed to ensure that people don't forget, I am not sure that a day off will actually achieve the goal. I do appreciate the time off though (my office shuts down).

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Would be kind of weird to have a declared Stat that could fall on a Saturday.

Almost half of the observed stat holidays in Alberta can fall on Saturday (New Year's Day, Canada Day, Remembrance Day and Christmas.)

[bc-chris]

it's already a stat holiday in bc... http://www.statutoryholidays.com/bc.php

i remember when we moved to bc from ontario i found it odd that we didn't go to school on nov 11th like we did in ontario (i was only 12 or 13 and hadn't grasped that holidays could be different from province to province)


i think it should be a national holiday

[Chill Cosby]

For Albertans it would make zero difference.
In fact, for everyone but Quebec and Manitoba it would make almost zero difference (Ontario and NS seem to either get that day off or another close to it).

Personally, I don't think so.
It becomes just an excuse for a day off for most people. What I think they SHOULD do is that on stat holidays ALL shops and services (save for emergency services) should be closed. No malls. No convenience stores. No grocery stores. No unrelated activity centres. People use stat holidays as an excuse to shop and do errands. Christmas comes closest being a day where *most* things are closed.

Unless they're changing the way businesses are operated during Nov 11, then no, I don't see how making that day a national stat holiday is going to make any beneficial difference to anyone in the country. It would seem closer to lip-service to me.

[Zevo]

Originally Posted by Chill Cosby

For Albertans it would make zero difference.
In fact, for everyone but Quebec and Manitoba it would make almost zero difference (Ontario and NS seem to either get that day off or another close to it).

Personally, I don't think so.
It becomes just an excuse for a day off for most people. What I think they SHOULD do is that on stat holidays ALL shops and services (save for emergency services) should be closed. No malls. No convenience stores. No grocery stores. No unrelated activity centres. People use stat holidays as an excuse to shop and do errands. Christmas comes closest being a day where *most* things are closed.

Unless they're changing the way businesses are operated during Nov 11, then no, I don't see how making that day a national stat holiday is going to make any beneficial difference to anyone in the country. It would seem closer to lip-service to me.

Why? I remember those days. It sucked. Nothing like being dictated what we can and can't do on a holiday.

As for Remembrance Day, like bc-chris said, it's already a stat here and I think it's great that the day is used to honor the sacrifices of so many and having it a stat helps to put a spotlight on it.

[Regular_John]

I grew up in Manitoba and moved to Alberta 10 years ago... I always thought it was a National Holiday.

[Frequitude]

Originally Posted by MillerTime GFG

He did bring up a good point from the opposition though, and that was children will probably learn more from what that day means by actually going to school. Otherwise, the onus is on the parents to teach them, which I'd argue for the most part, they wouldn't.

Originally Posted by Chill Cosby

What I think they SHOULD do is that on stat holidays ALL shops and services (save for emergency services) should be closed. No malls. No convenience stores. No grocery stores. No unrelated activity centres.

I would like to see a combination of these two. Everything closed except for schools with part of the school day dedicated to Rememberance Day type activities / learnings. Give the teachers and associated school support employees some other day in lieu.

[polak]

Wait, it's not a stat? We get the day off don't we?

[cDnStealth]

Originally Posted by Zevo

Why? I remember those days. It sucked. Nothing like being dictated what we can and can't do on a holiday.

As for Remembrance Day, like bc-chris said, it's already a stat here and I think it's great that the day is used to honor the sacrifices of so many and having it a stat helps to put a spotlight on it.

How is the day used to honour sacrifice when you have all those people working in malls and retail shops? Heck, my office is giving people the option of coming in and working on Remembrance Day. I think it's one of the more important days of the year and I believe it should be a national holiday.

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by Chill Cosby

(save for emergency services)

Woo h...aw, man...almost got a holiday for a change.

[Chill Cosby]

Originally Posted by Zevo

Why? I remember those days. It sucked. Nothing like being dictated what we can and can't do on a holiday.

As for Remembrance Day, like bc-chris said, it's already a stat here and I think it's great that the day is used to honor the sacrifices of so many and having it a stat helps to put a spotlight on it.

Because there are huge groups of people that don't get the day off, so that they can serve you while you're "honouring the sacrifices" of so many.

If it's a stat holiday, all employees in non-essential services should get the day off.

It's not dictating what you get to do on your holiday, it's allowing everyone that same right to that holiday.