Who doesn’t love a holiday? They’re a chance to unwind, to take a day off and re-evaluate what really matters.
NDP MP Dan Harris has been leading the charge to establish Remembrance Day as a national statutory holiday.
While the Nov. 11 event is observed to some degree across the country, four provinces – Ontario, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Manitoba – have yet to elevate it to the status of a full-day holiday, a fact Harris wants to change.
The idea is that making Remembrance Day a statutory holiday will allow Canadians to give the day the attention it deserves.
His proposal has been met with support from all parties and in light of the recent events in Quebec and at the War Memorial in Ottawa it’s easy to see why.
It’s hard to disagree with the notion that an entire day be set aside to recognize the contribution of Canada’s troops, both past and present, without seeming callous or ungrateful.
But while the concept seems sound in theory, the reality has the potential to be less positive.
The danger with making remembrance a full-day affair can be illustrated using two similar holidays held in other countries.
Memorial Day is a federal holiday that takes place in the United States on the last Monday in May. Like Remembrance Day its purpose is to honour the men and women who died while serving in the country’s armed forces.
But recently its focus has started to fade and the true meaning of the day has been overtaken by Memorial Day sales which fill stores with hungry bargain hunters in a Black Friday like fervour.
A similar problem has arisen inAustralia.
Anzac day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand Forces during the First World War. Like Remembrance Day it begins with somber dawn services at major war memorials.
Unlike Remembrance Day, Australians have the whole day off and many use the holiday as an occasion to drink heavily in some strange sort of celebration or homage to the troops.
The problem has become so prevalent that the country’s department of Veterans’ Affairs conducted a report in advance of Anzac Day’s 100th anniversary and found that people’s main concerns about the day were on “controlling the increasingly excessive use of alcohol and ‘yabbo’ behaviour during Anzac Day commemorations.”
Of course, there’s no evidence to indicate that Canadians would fall into the same trap. But if the objective of the day is truly to salute the armed forces then other options might better serve that purpose.
Consider this sobering statistic.
Between 2004 and March 31, 2014, 160 forces personnel have committed suicide. That means more Canadian soldiers have died by suicide than those killed in combat in Afghanistan.
If Canadians truly want to support their troops then perhaps more access to mental health services, not a holiday, is a practical place to start.