Sunday, August 3, 2014

How did B.C. Day come to be a holiday?

Have a happy BC Day. Why do we have this holiday, basically just because someone thought it would be a good idea to have a holiday for the worker in August. The official version is below.

The British Columbia Day Act, R.S.B.C. 1996 c.34 was first introduced in 1974 as Bill 61 by the Hon. Ernie Hall, the Provincial Secretary under Premier Dave Barrett. The explanatory notes prefacing the bill states: "The purposes of this Bill is to recognize the pioneers of British Columbia by declaring the first Monday of August in each year to be a public holiday known as British Columbia Day."

From the B.C. Debates, 4th Session, 30th Parliament, May 1, 1974, the Hon. Hall states, "August 1, or the closest working day to it, is a statutory holiday in every other province in Canada. By coincidence, an Act to provide to the Government of British Columbia, which changed us from the Colony of British Columbia, was passed by Parliament in the United Kingdom on August 2, 1858....

"We feel that British Columbia, like every other province could benefit and should have a holiday around August 1. We feel that the holiday should be dedicated to the pioneers who built the colony of British Columbia into the great province it is today..."

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