Thoughts on B.C. Day

Editorial

Search the government of British Columbia's website with the term "B.C. Day" and all you will find is the legal definition set out in the British Columbia Day Act, which states, succinctly enough, "The first Monday of August is a legal holiday to be observed as British Columbia Day."

We all know that the first Monday in August is a holiday for the plain reason that it is a perfect time for a long weekend. However, as then-provincial secretary Ernie Hall noted in the Legislature in introducing the bill to create the holiday, in 1974, there is a little serendipity as well. By coincidence, Hall told the Legislature, the law that changed us from the colony of British Columbia to the Canadian province of British Columbia was passed by the British Parliament on Aug. 2, 1858, a fact heretofore known to almost no one but the most relentless historians.

Still, unlike Canada Day, when a fervent few celebrate in ways patriotic, B.C. Day inspires no regional jingoism. It is meaningful only insofar as any day we can sleep in and then go to the beach gives our lives added meaning. So we have a modest proposal for imbuing this B.C. Day with some meaning.

In recent years, the British Columbia Ministry of Education has mooted making Social Studies 11 an elective, rather than a course required for graduation. Given that this course is the likeliest place for young British Columbians to learn about the Holocaust, this apparently minor administrative change would have a deleterious impact on the vitally important understanding British Columbians require about this dark epoch and its meaning for contemporary and future humanity.

Interestingly, Canada is in the process of becoming a full member of the Task Force for International Co-operation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research. This little-publicized group, formed under the guidance of the Swedish prime minister, is a place where jurisdictions can share best practices in Holocaust education, while adding support to the necessity of such remembrance and pressuring other jurisdictions to do the same.

Imbue the B.C. Day holiday with some significance this year. Take a moment to contact your provincial and federal elected representatives to remind them of the importance of Holocaust education. Encourage the province to ensure that Holocaust education – and the crucial messages it instils about the importance of nurturing tolerance and confronting bigotry – becomes more central to the education of young British Columbians, not less. Tell your federal MP that you support Canada's full membership in the international task force (about which you can learn more at www.holocausttaskforce.org). It will take only a moment of your time, after which you can enjoy a meaningful B.C. Day holiday.

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