British Columbia adds February holiday

Provincial government announces new holiday to be added starting in 2013

British Columbian workers will enjoy a long weekend in February — but not right away.

In early October, the B.C. government announced in its throne speech that it would be making an addition to its list of statutory holidays — Family Day on the third Monday of each February.

However, the province recognized the demands on employers to prepare for a new holiday, particularly in difficult economic times. As a result, the new holiday won’t happen until 2013, the government announced, with the first Family Day taking place on Feb. 18 of that year.

Though some welcomed the new holiday, businesses were more cautious.

“This will hurt — it costs all employers big and small,” Jock Finlayson, executive vice-president of the Business Council of B.C., told the Vancouver Province. “We ask the government to be mindful of that the next time a similar move is contemplated.”

B.C. joins Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba as provinces providing a statutory holiday in February.

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