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“The government throwing its support behind the bill means it should actually pass, and that makes a world of difference,” he said Tuesday. “The important thing at this point is to get this into legislation and have it enacted for the next Remembrance Day.”

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Currently, the federal government recognizes Remembrance Day in the Holidays Act as a national holiday, but it doesn’t force provinces to treat Nov. 11 as a paid statutory holiday.

Mr. Harris’s bill would amend the Act to treat Remembrance Day like other paid, national statutory holidays, such as Victoria Day and Canada Day.

Currently, there is a hodgepodge of legislation in each of the provinces. Six provinces and three territories — British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut — mark Remembrance Day as a paid general holiday.

However, other provinces, representing more than half of Canada’s population — Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Nova Scotia — do not recognize Remembrance Day as an official paid statutory holiday.

Certain workplaces in those provinces (particularly in Manitoba and Nova Scotia) are prohibited from opening in some cases, workers are still owed the day off in other cases and employers can voluntarily offer the day off to employees. Federal government employees receive the day off with pay.

Some Conservative MPs, such as Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino, have said they did not believe Nov. 11 needed to be a formal holiday to mark its importance and have Canadians pay their respects, as long as the day remained dignified.

However, Tory MP Erin O’Toole, a former Canadian Forces helicopter navigator who spoke on behalf of the government during debate on the bill, said Tuesday the Conservatives will support it, with a minor amendment at committee.

The Liberals and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said they also support the bill.

Postmedia News