A two billion dollar day off

What is the price of Dalton's McGuinty's "compassion"? Roughly two billion dollars according to the CFIB. That is the price tag of the so called "Family Day".

You remember "Family Day" right? That's the day that Dalton McGuinty bribed voters with so that the little weasel could get re-elected. Well, that and a disastrous performance by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. John Tory. Why is he still around again?

That's right, in this time of the slowing economy, Premier McGuinty thinks its OK to add further financial burden to the backbone of our economy, small and middle size businesses.

In a sliding economy, the numbers are a nightmare.

"It may cost a bit less than $2 billion but that's a lot of money," said Judith Andrew, vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

"And it's the small- and medium-sized businesses that take the blow," she said. "If they (small businesses) close, their income is hit and they still have to pay employees. But if they are open for business, they have to give employees premium pay. Many can't afford it, especially in these tough economic times."

No one thinks about small businesses while making policies, said Andrew. "It's money off their back; extra costs that are being thrust on people. People will either not get time with family or pay dearly for it. We didn't need this complication."

For the mid-sized company I work for, the cost in salary alone is 20,000 dollars. And this doesn't account for the lost revenue, overhead costs, etc. All these costs add up on the bottom line, and the more they add up, the higher it drives our costs, and the higher our costs, the less competitive we become on the world stage. Being less competitive means we get less business, less business means less jobs. Less jobs means a higher drain on the social safety net of Ontario.

And all this so that roughly 70% of the works in Ontario can have an extra day off, that's right, not everyone in Ontario gets the day off.

So enjoy your McGuinty Day, and when you have to pay more for the same, hopefully you will point the finger where it belongs.

Vacation is important, time off is an important aspect of a health work/life balance which will increase productivity, but let's be sure to balance this against the costs to the economy. Most people already get at least 2 weeks of holidays plus the 8 statutory days off. Many people get more.