When then-premier Don Getty introduced Family Day back in 1990, he did so because he felt it was important for Albertans to spend more time with their families and he figured this holiday would emphasize the importance of family values.
At the time the holiday was greeted with two trains of thought.
One side said it was great to have a long weekend in February, not necessarily to celebrate family, but just to have a break from our usually long, cold, depressing winters.
The other side – including many members of Getty’s own Conservative caucus – felt it wasn’t needed. People, that side argued, wouldn’t spend it recognizing family values and it would simply be an unnecessary financial burden on businesses.
Here it is 22 years later and one has to wonder about the value of Family Day. It absolutely is a nice break in the middle of winter, although that was hardly needed this winter.
Seeing the hundreds of families at Heritage Lake and Lacombe Lake Park out enjoying the sunny, mild winter day on Monday, one would be hard pressed to not believe that Family Day is a good thing.
There were parents with sons and daughters skating, playing hockey, taking sleigh rides, trying various games or sports, sliding or just walking around holding hands. It was an inspiring sight, even though on-site volunteers said they were hoping for a better turnout, given the ideal weather.
The turnout shouldn’t be surprising, however, given the lack of promotion by city hall, the fact it is not a federal holiday and a study by the University of Alberta’s Parkland Institute that shows what it called a “quite startling” lack of work-life balance among Albertans.
The study suggests Albertans are still obsessed with money and haven’t learned how to enjoy life. Every year we “enjoy” 182 fewer hours of leisure time than the average Canadian and in 2010 we worked 7.5 hours more every week than most workers in the top 15 developed countries.
That’s an extra day every week, which adds up to 52 days a year when parents – often both of them – are working instead of spending time with their families.
Getty introduced Family Day after seeing statistics showing Alberta had higher rates of divorces and two-parent working families than any other province in the Canada.
That hasn’t changed much. Too many Albertans still work 44 hours a week and have only two weeks annual vacation. So it’s not surprising a 2010 release by the Vanier Institute of the Family showed Alberta’s divorce rate hasn’t changed much – now the second highest in Canada. The percentage hadn’t slipped in Alberta; it had simply increased in Quebec, which now leads the country.
The other side of the Family Day debate is the downgrading of Heritage Day. In response to the criticism about hurting business, Alberta changed Heritage Day from a stat to a civic holiday, meaning employers don’t have to give workers the long weekend in August, although many are inclined to do so.
That could be an interesting coffee discussion – would you rather have a long weekend in the middle of February, when chances are it’s going to be cold, snowy and not all that enjoyable outside, or in August when odds are good you’ll be able to enjoy a nice summer barbecue in the backyard or at the lake?
Perhaps we should just learn to work less and learn to enjoy our families year-round.
