Victoria’s Read

How do you plan to spend Family Day this year?

By playing board games or making a craft with your kids? Perhaps by visiting some extended family? How about some outdoor fun? Maybe some skiing, skating, tobogganing or snowmobiling with your loved ones?

On Monday, February 18, 2008, most Ontarians will enjoy a well-deserved day off. Family Day was first proposed during the provincial election this past fall, when Premier Dalton McGuinty promised Ontarians that a day would be set aside to mark a special holiday for families. Upon re-election, the Ontario Government quickly delivered on its promise and announced that the third Monday in February of every year will now be a new public holiday called Family Day.

Family Day will allow hard-working Ontarians the opportunity to spend a little more time with their family and loved ones; to recharge by taking a restful, mid-winter break and to help encourage a healthy balance between work and family life. Introducing a long weekend in mid-February seems to be a perfect way to break up the long stretch between New Year’s Day and Easter and it gives Ontarians a total of nine statutory holidays per year, the same as in Alberta and British Columbia.

Of course some people worry that an extra holiday will be hard on the economy but the provincial government feels confident that Ontario’s economy is strong enough to accommodate an extra public holiday. We all know that a healthy employee is a productive employee, so odds are that giving people a little time off this time of year will help them feel more energized, enabling them to contribute more to their workplace and the economy overall. Plus, a mid-winter holiday may even spark an increase for some industries, such as tourism and entertainment and leisure, as we Ontarians fully exploit our extra long weekend!

Having trouble deciding how to spend your bonus day off? You may want to check out Travel Ontario at www.travelontario.net for some winter fun ideas or for local family friendly activities, check out www.ontariosnearnorth.on.ca.

However you plan to spend your family day this year, I hope you are able to spend it with the ones you love most and that you fully enjoy a little extra break during the winter season. Happy Family Day everyone!

Monique M. Smith, MPP
Nipissing