Simcoe Day

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Saturday, August 2, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, August 2, 2014

How to celebrate the first Monday in August

The first Monday in August is known by several different names across the province.

In Niagara Falls, it’s officially referred to as Civic Day.

In Toronto, the holiday has been known as Simcoe Day since 1969 in honour of John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada who supported legislation to ban slavery.

The John Simcoe Foundation requested in 1970 that Niagara Falls council change the name to Simcoe Day but the council at that time did not approve the name change.

Simcoe St., one of the oldest streets in Niagara Falls, was named in honour of Simcoe.

Janice Thomson, chairwoman of the Niagara Parks Commission, would like to see the holiday Monday known as Simcoe Day.

The NPC will celebrate the holiday this weekend at the Mackenzie Printery where some of the first government documents produced in Upper Canada were printed.
The First Emancipation Act was passed in 1793 and the printed act came from the press. The first Monday in August is also referred to as Emancipation Day.

“The event at the printery is a good example of what may be needed to raise awareness for Lord Simcoe and the role he played in the province, as the first Lt . Gov. To Niagara-on-the-Lake, he is an important figure, as he named the town Newark and established Niagara-on-the-Lake as the first capital of Upper Canada,” Thomson said.

There is a statue in his honour at Simcoe Park on King St. in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
The problem is, however, with all the visitor traffic through the historic town, it was hard to find someone who knew of Simcoe.

“I have no idea who he is or what he did,” said Karl Weber, from Germany.
“But, he must be important if there’s a statue in his memory.”

City historian Sherman Zavitz favours naming the holiday Champlain Day in honour of French explorer Samuel Champlain.

“He was great explorer and I would support that,” he said. “He was a man with great vision.”

Zavitz would also support naming the holiday Macdonald Day, after Canada’s first prime minister John A. Macdonald.

In Ottawa, the first Monday in August is Colonel By Day, George Hamilton Day in Hamilton and Joseph Brant Day in Burlington.

In British Columbia, it’s British Columbia Day, Heritage Day in Alberta, Natal Day in Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan Day in Saskatchewan. (Source: Fort Erie Times)

SOCIAL MEDIA

March 16, 2007

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Well, this cartoon might have had the shortest shelf life on record. This morning the Liberals launched its Green Plan.

Oh well.

Anyway, this is the first St. Patrick’s Day editorial cartoon I’ve ever drawn. With all the talk of green this and green that over the past 3 or 4 months I’ve been waiting for the arrival of this day to feature some politician dressed up as a leprechaun. This is the second time within 6 months… the last (and probably first ever leprechaun I’ve drawn since probably grade 4) was in this cartoon related to Toronto’s Simcoe Day.

Many people think that because I’ve got a pretty celtic name… my middle name is Patrick, by the way, I’m one of those Celtic-philes. Especially one of those North American ‘celts’ who try hard to understand their heritage by scoffing at the notion of green beer and acting like they really enjoy stout beer… and not necessarily Guiness, but one of those micro brewed Irish stouts. Scottish wannabes will act like haggis is the greatest delicacy on Earth. And of course extreme Celtic-philes will listen to obscure celtic music and set aside time on Saturday mornings to watch television highlights of British and Irish soccer… I mean, football. Every few years they’ll go over to the old country and wander around cemetaries looking for long lost relatives just to assure themselves that their backgrounds go beyond their large suburban garage doors in Blandville, North America.

I’ve been to both Scotland and Ireland on a couple of occasions. I lived in London for nearly two years in the 1990’s. I was one of those Celtic-philes, and my life in the U.K. gave me enough exposure to the ways of life over there that I’m more than happy to be back here. I think it was the aftermath of downing 7 pints of Guiness in a row at that St Patrick’s night party at the Irish Club in Sloane Square 14 years ago when I realized Celticmania wasn’t all the ‘craic’ I had been lead to believe.

My grandfather, the MacKay one, emigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1885. That’s 1885. He’d be 129 if he were still alive. Needless to say I’m pretty far removed from the Celtic world. So if we ever bump into each other in person don’t be surprised when you don’t see me in a gaelic kilt and speaking with a heavy Scottish brogue.