Celebrate Emancipation Day Weekend

Emancipation Day, which is celebrated on August 1st in Canada, has special meaning for me. Please read below the following legislation, passed by the Province of Ontario:

Emancipation Day Act, 2008
S.O. 2008, CHAPTER 25

Preamble

The British Parliament
abolished slavery in the British Empire as of August 1, 1834 by enacting an Act
being 3 & 4 Will. IV, chapter 73 (U.K.) on August 28, 1833. That Act
resulted from the work of abolitionists who struggled against slavery, including
Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe who promoted the passage of an Act
restricting slavery in Upper Canada, being 33 Geo. III, chapter 7 (U.C.) enacted
on July 9, 1793. Upper Canada was the predecessor of the Province of Ontario.
Abolitionists and others who struggled against slavery, including those who
arrived in Ontario by the underground railroad, have celebrated August 1 as
Emancipation Day in the past.
Ancestors of Ontario’s Black community were one
of the founding communities of Ontario and Canada. The Black community has been
present in Ontario for more than 300 years.
The year 2008 marks the 30th
anniversary of the founding of the Ontario Black History Society, which is
dedicated to the study, preservation and promotion of the history of Ontario’s
Black community, and the 40th anniversary of the martyrdom of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. in the United States of America.
It is important to recognize the
heritage of Ontario’s Black community and the contributions that it has made and
continues to make to Ontario. It is also important to recall the ongoing
international struggle for human rights and freedom from repression for persons
of all races which can be best personified by Lieutenant Governor John Graves
Simcoe and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Accordingly, it is appropriate to
recognize August 1 formally as Emancipation Day and to celebrate
it.
Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the
Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as
follows:

Emancipation Day
1. August 1 in each year is proclaimed as Emancipation Day. 2008, c. 25,
s. 1.
2. Omitted
(provides for coming into force of provisions of this Act). 2008, c. 25,
s. 2.
3. Omitted
(enacts short title of this Act). 2008, c. 25, s. 3.