Family Day Ministry of Labour report

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COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

Ministry of Labour, Citizens Services and Open Government GCPE

Family day

Purpose: Inform the public about Ministry progress and consultation towards creating Family Day

as a statutory holiday in the third week of February.

Background/Context/Environmental scan:

In her leadership platform Premier Christy Clark committed to begin a discussion with British

Columbians, particularly with the business community, about celebrating Family Day on the third

Monday in February.

In British Columbia, families have a long stretch between New Years Day and the Easter break

without a long weekend 111 days this year. The Family First agenda recognizes that two of the

keys to strong families are a thriving economy that supports good jobs and families having qualitytime together. Celebrating Family Day on the third Monday in February would provide an

opportunity for families to spend some quality time together during this long stretch.

Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario celebrate Family Day on the third Monday in February as a

statutory holiday. Manitoba and Prince Edward Island also provide a statutory holiday on this day,

although it is not called Family Day in these provinces.

British Columbia has nine existing statutory holidays: the number of statutory holidays varies

across the country. Six other jurisdictions have nine, the most common number. Nova Scotia has

the lowest at five. Saskatchewan has the highest at ten. On a statutory holiday, eligible employees

are entitled to the day off with their regular pay, or to additional pay at premium rates for all hours

worked.

Since the platform was released in January 2011, there have been some events that have shaped the

economic environment around Family Day. The extinguishing of the HST and the weakening and

nervousness around the global economy may result in a profound impact on businesses and

workers.

The business community has recently raised concerns with the Ministry citing costs to employers

and its negative impact on the economy and job creation. The Canadian Federation of Independent

Business (CIFB) recently surveyed its members. 62% of 1,495 respondents indicated that

government should not introduce a new statutory holiday, citing concerns such as lost

sales/revenue, higher wage costs and lost production. Only 13% indicated that the new holidaywould have no impact on them. The CFIB submits that the holiday will cost $1,135 in wages alone

for the average small employer, defined as a business with five employees earning BCs average

wage.

Estimate of the Economic Impact:

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Applying a formula developed by BMO Capital Markets and that was first used in Ontario when it

introduced a Family Day in 2007; the Ministrys rough estimate is that a new statutory holiday

could result in reduced economic activity in the range of about $198 million (i.e., the equivalent of

approximately 0.1 per cent of provincial Gross Domestic Product).

In addition, a February holiday would have a direct fiscal impact on government. The Public Sector

Employers Council Secretariat has estimated this to be approximately $28 million in additional

wage/salary and benefit costs for employers in the broad public sector (0.12% of the public sector

compensation base of $22.9 billion).

Current Economy:

The Ministry of Finance has advised that Government is monitoring the current situation in the

United States and Europe very carefully, as recent economic events in those regions are of concern.

While British Columbia is not immune to economic events abroad, it has weathered the recession of

2008/009 better than most other provinces. Government expects that B.C.s competitiveness will

keep it in good stead going forward and is committed to the objective of a balanced budget in2013/2014.

On September 8th, the Ministry of Finance released the first quarterly report, which indicated thatthe return to the two-tax PST/GST system will result in bigger deficits than forecast in Budget 2011:

o deficits of $2,778 million in 2011/12, and;o $805 million in 2012/13.

The first quarterly update also projects a deficit of $458 million in 2013/14 that will need to beclosed if government is to balance its budget by that year.

Communication Objectives:

Potential Challenges:

Key Audiences:

x Mediax Public

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Messaging:

x We are acting on the Premiers commitment to begin a discussion with British Columbiansabout celebrating the third week of February as Family Day.

x That is why we will be beginning consultations with the business and labour communities, andlistening to people to find out what Family Day could look like.

x We have been looking at establishing Family Day through the lens of the current economicclimate.

x The Ministry has received some correspondence from the business community which raisedconcerns about potential financial impacts of an additional statutory holiday.

x Recent economic turmoil in Europe and the U.S., along with the financial implications ofextinguishing the HST will certainly challenge the business community, and we need to ensure

their success and protect jobs for British Columbians.

x We recognize there is a long stretch between New Years Day and the Easter break without along weekend 111 days this year, and one of the keys of our Families First agenda is to keep

families strong and that is accomplished by spending quality time together.

x There may be other benefits as well to creating a new statutory holiday, such as increasedtourism and increased productivity from a well rested work force.

x We will be considering all these elements when we discuss Family Day with stakeholders andthe public.

x At this point we cannot commit to a timeline on when Family Day will be implemented as thereare still many factors we have to evaluate.

Strategic Approach:

Materials:

x Issues Notex Key Messagesx Consultation notice/plan from Ministry

DETAILED ROLL-OUT TIMELINE

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Sign-off:

_________________

David Greer

Communications Director

Labour, Citizens Services and Open Government

Sept 8, 2011

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Documents

Family Day Ministry of Labour report