Ontario politician pitches a ‘pick-your-own’ stat holiday plan

A potential leadership candidate for the Ontario Liberal Party wants to see Ontarians take a little extra time off.

Unlike a standard statutory holiday that sees the entire province take the same day off, this proposal would allow you to pick your own holiday.

“In Ontario, more than a third of our population represents a visible minority,” said Dr. Adil Shamji, Liberal MPP for Don Valley East. “There are nine statutory holidays that really don’t reflect the diversity of the many cultures in our province.”

Shamji wants to allow each Ontario resident to pick one additional holiday, which could fall anywhere on the calendar.

“My proposed policy will deliver one flexible, floating holiday to every person in Ontario that they can choose to celebrate or commemorate on a day of personal, cultural or religious importance,” said Shamji.

“This is a way of being genuinely inclusive and making sure that every person in Ontario feels represented, feels included.”

“You can be an Atheist but still belong to a particular heritage, and you may choose to celebrate a day of relevance to that. Or it could be something that’s deeply personal,” Shamji continued.

A registered doctor, Shamji is in his first term as a Liberal MPP. He is still considering whether to run for the party’s vacant leadership position.

“I’m very close to making a final decision. There are just a few small things that need to come into place before I can pull the trigger and confirm,” said Shamji. “To me, this is a really serious decision.”

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie is among those who have already joined the race to replace Steven Del Duca, who stepped down after a poor showing in the last provincial election. Shamji hopes that whoever emerges victorious will help establish a new brand for the party.

“I think what people are looking for is a new perspective, someone that is non-ideological, that’s sensible, centrist, that has spent a career fighting for people and wants to genuinely do that moving forward,” he said.

“I have that track record.”