Ont. Liberals promise February stat holiday if elected

Ontarians will be treated to anotherlong weekendevery year if the Liberals are re-elected next month, the government announced Monday.

The holiday, proposed for the third Monday in February, would be called Family Day and focused on giving families more time to spend together.

Finance Minister Greg Sorbara, also the Liberal campaign chairman, said the party would include the proposed day off in their election platform.

"Ontarians work very, very hard. Ontario winters are very, very long and Ontarians deserve a statutory holiday in February," he said on Labour Day, five weeks before the Oct. 10 provincial election. "I think this is going to be very, very welcome in Ontario. It's something we've talked about for more than a decade."

He said the province's economy is now strong enough for the government to give workers another holiday.

The new long weekend would bring the number of annual statutory holidays in Ontario to nine, putting the province on par with Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and the three territories for days off.