Quote:
Originally Posted by Djeffery
Canada did also recently add a holiday of our own, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Sept 30. It does kind of bother me that this new holiday has taken on more significance than Remembrance Day has. I work in a federally regulated business so we should have both off, but we work Nov 11, as do all our competitors in our industry. Management has always said there are a certain number of stat holidays we are required to provide and since we also have a couple of provincial holidays, like Family Day or Ontario Civic Day (or Baptiste Day in Quebec), that they exceed the required number of days off we get. So why Sept 30 and not Nov 11 instead if we have to choose 1? Well, first we are in the transportation of goods and Nov 11 is closer to the start of the busy Christmas shipping season than Sept 30. But the biggest reason is public perception. It would be seen as too politically incorrect and disrespectful to not take that day.
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Boy are you going to be surprisedv when you learn, that a lot of us who are serving or have served don't want November 11th to be a full holiday.
My time on exchange in the US solidified that view. Born Memorial Day and Veterans Day in the US are nothing but usual commercial holidays where the focus is on sales at chain stores. Memorial Day is usually a booze fest too, as the start of the Summer. Same as Victoria Day here. And not even their military members have obligatory attendance at events for those days. This is very different in Commonwealth countries, which actually does surprise Americans.
I also like that schools in Canada use Remembrance Day to teach children about the horrors of war and sacrifices made. Many also take the time to invite serving members and veterans to give presentations and talks. None of this would really have the same gravitas, if it was all just another assignment before a long weekend.
My suggestion instead of holiday, is that employers adopt a half day where possible, to let employees attend memorial services where possible.