We all know that November 11 commemorates Remembrance Day, the day in Canada to honour those who have died in the line of duty.
Remembrance Day has long been a paid holiday for federal workers in Canada, and for occupations governed by the Canada Labour Code (which doesn’t apply to dentists unless you work for the federal government). Otherwise, there is no mention of Remembrance Day as a paid holiday in Ontario under the Employment Standards Act.
However, on March 1, 2018, the law called “An Act to amend the Holidays Act (Remembrance Day)” (also called Bill C-311) received royal assent. As a result, November 11 is now a legal holiday throughout Canada.
Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that your dental team get an additional day off with pay in November. The Employment Standards Act still governs employment in Ontario, and the federal government doesn’t have the power to force Ontario to make Remembrance Day a paid statutory holiday for dental offices.
This was just the federal government’s way of encouraging Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Manitoba (those provinces who do not give Remembrance Day as a paid holiday) to consider adding an additional statutory holiday to their existing paid holidays.
As always, we will keep you posted on any changes to employment law that affect your team.
