Flag Day


Flag Day
Originally uploaded by Points North.

Did you know today is the anniversary of our Canadian flag? Me neither. Peggy Nash, NDP MP, wants to change that. She's put forward a private member's bill to declare Flag Day a statutory holiday. The best part of such an idea, aside from the fact that we have fewer stat hols than the US (unbelievable), is that it will come midway in the 95-day drought of stat hols. We'd get one day off in the deepest of winter cold, and our MPs would get 5. You'd think that would be enough of an incentive for them to go for it.

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Health Canada has approved the claims of Cold-FX that it reduces the severity and duration of colds and flus. I knew that the summer I stopped taking it every day, figuring I never get summer colds and had a pretty easy winter of it so I'm safe, and I promptly got a cold.

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The US Mint figures third time lucky. The Georgie is the newest incarnation of their dollar coin. With their esteemed George Washington on one side and the Statue of Liberty on the other, they'll succeed in finally replacing the paper dollar with the coin dollar. But they're doomed to failure. The US government is too chicken shit to do what our tough Canadian government did: abolish the paper dollar bill and force us all to accept the Loonie. Now ours is musing about getting rid of the penny. No, I say NO!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Peggy Nash is a national treasure!
If she can get Parliament to make Flag Day a stat hol, definitely!!!
CQ said…
_Hard to believe that our 'Loonie' came into existance way back in 1987! Wow?
_The US Dollar is somewhat special, as a currency form. There's a lot of symbolism attached to it.
_Without a $2 version, I think it would result in too many coins to equate to the $5 bill for ready acceptance. 3 loons and only 1 toon for example is 20% fewer coins; 40% less if 2 toonies are used.
David said…
I fully support another holiday, but wasn't it a Flag Day ceremony at which Jean Chretien invented the "Shawinigan Handshake"?
Mark Dowling said…
Peggy Nash is obviously worried about Kennedy.

I think a February holiday isn't a bad idea but Flag Day seems like copying the Americans. Why not make Chinese New Year a holiday? It's the right time of year and might mean a lot to the large number of Chinese Canadians - and we could have dim sum parties!
david, you're totally right! More evidence we need some time off, even our PM got affected by the long holiday drought.

mark, I think you're pulling my leg. :P

I'd much prefer red, white, and maple leaf cakes, with maple syrup icing and a sprinkle of maple sugar -- it's close enough to sugaring off to include that too. That might also sweeten the few left who are still miffed over Canada getting its own flag.
Classic, I agree about the toonie making change for a $5 easier, but it took awhile after the Loonie for the toonie to come out. I'm not sure about the symbolism -- I think it's more that people just don't like change. But once they get used to it, they'll make the Georgie their own like we did with our one dollar.