In Nova Scotia, Heritage Day is supposed to be a paid public holiday.
And it will be– at least for some of you.

This year, Heritage Day is celebrated on Monday, 19 Feb. Nova Scotia’s 2024 honouree is William Hall VC.  William Hall (1827-1904) was the first Black person, the first Nova Scotian and the third Canadian to be awarded the British empire’s highest award for bravery, the Victoria Cross.  Born in Horton, NS, he enlisted in the Royal Navy and fought two years in the Crimean War before helping to “put down” the Indian Mutiny of 1857.  The Indian Rebellion or Mutiny was in resistance to exploitation and racism by the British East India Company. For more on this watch this 8-minute video Why did Britain’s Most Brutal War Happen? The 1857 Revolt — HERE. A nice story about Hall’s descendants is here.

How to get the day off with pay

Heritage Day is one of the paltry six paid holidays in NS each year. A decade ago NS had only 5 paid holidays each year! Our province has one of the lowest number of paid holidays, or what some call “statutory holidays” in Canada. For example, New Brunswick has eight, and PEI has seven paid holidays. Quebec has eight, and Ontario and Saskatchewan each boast ten.

If you belong to a union, you’ll likely get the day off with pay. 

If you have no union, there are two rules you must follow in order to get paid for the holiday.

In Nova Scotia, Heritage Day is a retail closing day; that means most stores, services and offices must be closed. To receive pay for the day off, you have to have earned pay at your job for at least 15 of the last 30 days. You also must have worked your shift right before the holiday, and your shift immediately after the holiday.

If you qualify for the holiday, and your boss asks you to work on Heritage Day you are entitled to get your regular pay for the day’s work plus one and a half times your pay for the hours you do work. 

By law, coffee shops, convenience stores, gas stations, tourist attractions, hotels, and small drug stores and small groceries are allowed to remain open. If you have a coffee at Tim’s or Starbucks on Monday, you should know that the employees who serve you will probably have worked fewer than 15 of the last 30 days. That way the employer is not obliged to give them the day off with pay. In fact, most employees at coffee shops, restaurants, bars and health clubs will likely receive their regular pay ONLY (no bonus at all) for working on the holiday. No extra pay and no extra time off.

If you want to get a paid holiday on Heritage Day, consider helping to organize a union at your workplace. Then the union can negotiate Heritage Day as a paid holiday for you. More than 28% of working people in Nova Scotia have a union that represents them! Ask Equity Watch (equitywatchns@gmail.com) or me how to do it!

Featured painting above: Winter Nights, Halifax by Boma Nnaji (14 Bells Fine Art Gallery, Halifax)