August 1st 2020
First and foremost, what the heck is a civic day holiday?
Description From Wikipedia:
Civic Holiday is the most widely used name for a public holiday celebrated in most of Canada on the first Monday in August, though it is officially known by that term only by the governments of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories where it is a territorial statutory holiday. The name “Civic” is in reference to municipalities (such as cities, towns, etc.) as this day is not legislatively mandated a public holiday across the country by the Canadian federal government and is often given a different, more specific name by some municipalities.
The holiday is known by a variety of names in other provinces and municipalities, including British Columbia Day in British Colombia, New Brunswick Day in New Brunswick, and Saskatchewan Day in Saskatchewan, where the day is a provincial statutory holiday across each province. The holiday is celebrated as Natal Day in Nova Scotia, in commemoration of the founding of the Halifax–Dartmouth area, and Terry Fox Day in Manitoba, in honour of the nationally renowned Manitoba born athlete. Despite its special designations in Nova Scotia and Manitoba, the day is not a statutory holiday in those provinces, nor in Prince Edward Island.
So it is very obvious that we Canadians just wanted a holiday, there was no particular reason other than a long weekend in the middle of the summer, and while not a federal mandated holiday is celebrated in most provinces under one name or another. It does mark the middle of the summer, leading into the dog days of August and before the return of school in early September. And this year the fact that we are going to have children return to school is a great sign that this pandemic is a little closer to being under control here in Ontario. Oh it still is infection a few people each day but we are talking less than 100 new cases per day, numbers that many American states would love to see. But masks are the new normal in enclosed buildings or larger groups where social distancing are not possible. Group sizes are increasing and there is obvious signs of pandemic fatigue, as we move further through the summer, we are seeing signs of stupidity rearing its ugly head. Tempers are running short, peoples patience, starting to show its nearing the breaking point. But if we try to remember this is all in the name of protecting not only ourselves but, those around us we will control this virus until a vaccine is produced and proven reliable.
There is not a lot to update as we work our way through the summer, our American friends to the south still seem to be mired in a pandemic nightmare. And we are looking at alternatives to avoid the United States if things don’t change in the near future the odds of the border opening are not good. So possible flying over the states to Mexico for the winter is an option, as air travel seems possible to places other than the U.S. at this time. But as I say these are just ideas, our hope is that the border does open, and travel will resume but there needs to be some leadership and soon to get it under control … just saying.
The Buchanan's Rolling Down The Road 