NDP wants Sept. 30 made provincial holiday

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This article was published 25/11/2021 (1029 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The NDP has introduced a private member’s bill that would make Sept. 30 a statuatory holiday in Manitoba.

In 2017, Sept. 30 was declared Orange Shirt Day in the province. This year, the date was marked as Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and was made a federal statuatory holiday.

Ian Bushie, NDP MLA for Keewatinook, put forward the Orange Shirt Day Statutory Holiday Act on Thursday. It calls for the day to be recognized as a holiday in the provincial Employment Standards Code and a paid day off.

This year, thousands of people marked the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation by honouring survivors of residential schools, their families and communities.

“Not everyone was able to fully participate in learning and healing that day because the PCs refused to make it a statutory holiday,” Bushie said in a statement.

“Brian Pallister set reconciliation back in Manitoba and if Premier (Heather) Stefanson wants to show she’s different, she needs to do more than just say the right thing — she needs to do the right thing and ensure that every Manitoban can observe Orange Shirt Day with their loved ones.”

Bushie’s bill resembles one put forward by the Manitoba Liberals in October, said leader Dougald Lamont.

The Liberal bill went to first reading, but did not proceed to committee before the last legislative session concluded, Lamont said.

“It was something that clearly had massive public support,” Lamont said. “The important thing is that it gets done,” he said.

Private member’s bills are rarely passed into law.