Our 2021 Civic Holiday

 

Our 2021 Civic Holiday
    by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament
Pickering-Scarborough East
   As we are approaching our Civic Holiday on August the 2nd let us think for a moment of relief from the pandemic blues. Let us celebrate with our family and friends in this beautiful but short Canadian summer. Let us be optimistic about our future.
The Civic Holiday is not a statutory holiday although it's a day off for many employees across the country. The Civic Holiday is commonly referred to as the August long weekend. It is probably the busiest day on highways as tens of thousands of families go camping and to cottages on that weekend.
So let us see a little bit of history of the Civic Holiday in Ontario. The origins of a holiday on the first Monday in August appear to date back to 1869 when Toronto City Council organized the first "day of recreation."
In Ontario, the first Monday of August is technically a municipal holiday, as it is not designated as an official statutory holiday by provincial legislation even thought various private member's bills have been introduced in the Ontario Legislature attempting to make it official, but none has passed to date.
As such, the holiday takes on different names and celebrates different subjects according to municipality. Many Ontario municipalities have chosen to honour a significant local person or organization in order to localize the celebration; when not given a local name (such as in Mississauga), the day is often generically referred to as "Civic Holiday" or "August Civic Holiday".
In 2008, the Ontario Legislature passed a law identifying the first of August as "Emancipation Day", as the British Parliament abolished slavery in the British Empire as of August 1, 1834. It still does not make it an official holiday, however.
The Civic Holiday is now known by one of a number of local appellations, including, among others:
-"Founders' Day" in Brantford (named in 1982): each year, the Brantford Heritage Committee submits a report to City Council with the name or organization that is to be recognized on that day.
-"Joseph Brant Day" in Burlington (): celebrating Joseph Brant, the Mohawk Chief who became known for his treaty negotiations and loyalty to the British.
-"James Cockburn Day" in Cobourg (1999): celebrating James Cockburn, one of the "fathers of Confederation".
-"John Galt Day" in Guelph (2006): celebrating John Galt, the Scottish novelist and businessman who founded the city.
-"George Hamilton Day" in Hamilton: celebrating George Hamilton, the eponymous founder of the city.
-"McLaughlin Day" in Oshawa (1983): celebrating Robert Samuel McLaughlin, who brought General Motors to Oshawa.
-"Colonel By Day" in Ottawa (1996): celebrating Colonel John By, who led the construction of the Rideau Canal and founded Bytown, which became the city of Ottawa.
-"Peter Robinson Day" in Peterborough: celebrating Peter Robinson
-"Alexander Mackenzie Day" in Sarnia (1998): celebrating Alexander Mackenzie, the 2nd Prime Minister of Canada.
-"Simcoe Day" in Toronto: celebrating John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada and the leading proponent of the Act Against Slavery.
-"Benjamin Vaughan Day" in Vaughan: celebrating the eponymous Benjamin Vaughan
Here in Durham Region in Oshawa let's have a look at who  Robert Samuel McLaughlin was.
Colonel Robert Samuel McLaughlin, CC ED CD (September 8, 1871 - January 6, 1972) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He started the McLaughlin Motor Car Company in 1907, one of the first major automobile manufacturers in Canada, which evolved into General Motors of Canada.
McLaughlin was born in Enniskillen, near Bowmanville Ontario, to Robert McLaughlin and Mary Smith. As a young man, he worked briefly in a local hardware store, then in 1887 became an apprentice in his father's company, McLaughlin Carriage Works, which had opened in 1867. At one time it was the largest manufacturer of horse-drawn buggies and sleighs in the British Empire.
In 1892, McLaughlin and his brother George become junior partners in their father's company.  In 1898, he married Adelaide Mowbray.
He started producing the McLaughlin-Buick Model F with engines bought from William C. Durant of Buick, incorporating the McLaughlin Motor Car Company on November 20, 1907. In its first full year of operation, 1908, it produced 154 cars. By 1910 he was a director of General Motors. He sold his Chevrolet company stock in 1918, becoming president of General Motors of Canada, which continued to sell cars under the McLaughlin-Buick brand until 1942.
Though he retired in 1945, he remained chairman of the board until his death and remained on the board of General Motors until the early 1960s. He was replaced by Royal Bank of Canada president Earle McLaughlin, his first cousin once removed.
His older brother, chemist John J. McLaughlin (1865-1914), founded the Canada Dry company. After his brother's death in 1914, McLaughlin became president of this company until it was sold around 1923. The longest continuously-serving colonel in the history of the Canadian Forces, McLaughlin was appointed as honorary lieutenant-colonel of the 34th Ontario Regiment (1921 - 1931), when he was appointed as honorary colonel of the same unit, later designated as The Ontario Regiment (RCAC), a reserve armored regiment based in Oshawa. Affectionately known as "Colonel Sam", McLaughlin served as honorary colonel until 1967.
In 1967, McLaughlin was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada.
A great Canadian, McLaughlin made a lot of charitable contributions.
In 1951, he established the McLaughlin Foundation which, donated nearly $200 million between 1953 and 2003 to the University of Toronto and other educational causes, including the McLaughlin Planetarium at the Royal Ontario Museum.
At Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, the university's Mechanical Engineering Department is housed in McLaughlin Hall, his donation in 1948. McLaughlin Hall in Queen's University's John Deutsch University Centre is also named for him. Queen's honored his wife, Adelaide McLaughlin, in 1957, by naming the women's residence Adelaide Hall.
In 1947 McLaughlin and his wife donated land for "Camp Samac", a Boy Scout camp on the outskirts of Oshawa.
McLaughlin donated $1 million to the 1968 library building at the University of Guelph, which bears his name.
He provided partial funding to build McLaughlin College at York University in Toronto, opened in 1968. In recognition for his contributions to St. Andrew's College in Aurora, Ontario, McLaughlin Hall is named after him, which he unveiled in 1971 at the age of 99.
He endowed the Regimental Foundation of the Ontario Regiment (RCAC) and quietly paid the salaries of some of the regiment's soldiers during times of severely curtailed government funding. McLaughlin House at the Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific also bears his name.
He gave generously to the art community, donating paintings from his personal collection. Among other gifts, he gave Lawren Harris`s Pic Island, Arthur Lismer`s Bright Land, and Emily Carr`s Old Tree at Dusk to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg.
So get ready to celebrate but remember that here in Durham region in Oshawa, we have history to tell. Have a safe celebration.