Labour Day was meant to celebrate the contributions of unions to Canadians' quality of life, and still does with the North Okanagan Labour Council's annual Labour Day Picnic.

Image Credit: Submitted North Okanagan Labour Council

The origin of our traditional end-of-summer Labour Day celebration is directly related to an industry that has evolved into the format you are reading right now.

Back in the 1800s, labour unions were illegal in Canada but they were still formed and fought for workers’ rights.

The Toronto Trades Assembly challenged that law April 15, 1872, and staged a massive march that drew 10,000 participants — about 10 per cent of Toronto’s population at the time. This was according to a blog on the BCL Consulting Group website. BCL works with employers to reduce workers' compensation claims.

This drastic action was taken in an effort to free 24 leaders of the Toronto Typographical Union, many of whose members printed newspapers, who had been jailed after fighting for a nine-hour workday.

George Brown, the founder of the Toronto Globe (now the Globe and Mail) led the campaign to get them arrested because it interfered with the printing of his newspaper.

But the unions found a supporter in Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald after they paraded in front of his Ottawa house a few months later. He released the union leaders and lashed out against Brown.

By the end of the year, Macdonald passed the Trade Union Act that repealed the old laws that banned unions.

Labour Day was initially celebrated in the spring but moved to the first Monday in September in 1894 to coincide with a similar holiday that started about the same time in the United States.

Now the long weekend is celebrated by most Canadians as the end of summer and the return to school.

But some labour organizations have revived the spirit of the day in an effort to get the message out that they were instrumental in numerous workplace improvements – not only getting the nine-hour day but, later, the eight-hour workday.

“Things like Medicare, minimum wage and parental leave were won thanks to working people across Canada,” North Okanagan Labour Council President Ian Gordon said in a news release. “The $15 minimum wage is changing the lives of working families across the country and our PharmaCare campaign hopes to do the same.”

That labour council is staging its sixth annual Labour Day Picnic behind the Hollywood Road Education Services centre on Hollywood Road on Monday, Sept. 2 from noon to 3 p.m.

It includes a free barbecue, live music, give-a-ways, displays by community and union groups and the City of Kelowna’s Park and Paly for children.

Last year the picnic included the South Okanagan Boundary Labour Council but it did not join in this year.

Kamloops and District Labour Council’s picnic is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at McDonald Park, also on Monday.

The Serious Dogs will provide the music with entertainment from Sancho the clown and others. The Storm junior hockey team along with other sporting groups will be on site. Hotdogs and hamburgers will be available by donation.

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