Another public sector holiday added to Ontario calendar

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The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is being recognized as a public sector holiday in Ontario, according to a ruling by a labour arbitrator.

Ontario joins British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador as provinces that allow employees working in the public sector to have Sept. 30 as a paid holiday.

“The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a holiday within each of the holiday provisions of the collective agreements,” wrote arbitrator Christopher Albertyn, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “It ought to have been granted as a paid holiday in 2022.”

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was passed by Parliament in 2021 as a federal holiday in tribute to residential school children.

Provincial public sector unions such as the Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union and Association of Law Officers filed complaints after they were denied the federal holiday last year.

The Government of Ontario had argued Bill C-5 An Act To Amend The Bills Of Exchange Act was signed into law but not “proclaimed by the Governor General,” and therefore did not apply. It was rejected.

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“The notion of a difference between royal assent and proclamation is novel and interesting but it is hardly the stuff of common knowledge and experience among those negotiating collective agreements,” wrote Albertyn. “They were labour relations representatives entering into an agreement to cover what would happen if a new holiday were declared by the government.”

According to an official estimate, the holiday costs $388.9 million annually in overtime and paid leave for federally-regulated employers.