For many people in Saskatoon, Labour Day is associated with a long weekend and a football game. But for more than two decades, a barbecue has been hosted for the Saskatoon community to highlight the history and meaning of Labour Day. “It is more than a day off. It’s a chance for us to reflect on what labour has given us. Without labour, there would be no weekends. There would be no eight-hour workdays, there would be no pensions, benefits, etc.. It’s also just a celebration of all that we have accomplished. And also, to remember how far we have to go,” Don MacDonald, president of the Saskatoon & District Labour Council, said. Labour Day was first created within Canada following the workers’ rights movement, a movement on the country’s eastern side to work less than 12 hours a day, called the “Nine-Hour Movement” in 1872. This campaign ultimately saw success and laid the groundwork for a number of labour unions across the country. Laurie Jobe, the president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, shared that she has been attending the event for nearly two decades and emphasized the historical significance of the day. “It’s a day to stop and to think about all the wins that workers have achieved over the past century or more. Hike huge wins, we wouldn’t have so many things if we didn’t have the labor movement. Workers fought for and won maternity leave. We fought for and won, these long weekends that we get to enjoy, whether they’re through the summer or in the winter, there’s so many wins, occupational health and safety,” Jobe said. For 27 years, the Labour Day barbecue has marked the occasion. Despite rainy conditions, hundreds of people came out to Victoria Park to enjoy the food, community, and learn a bit more about their local unions. “Despite the weather, we are celebrating Labor Day with a community barbecue. So a number of our affiliates have set up tables, with prizes and gifts and treats for the kids and the people who attend. We have hot dogs and hamburgers and juice boxes for everybody,” MacDonald said. The Saskatoon & District Labour Council president added that those who are involved with the event typically come back year after year. “We have about 30 volunteers who seem to come out year after year just for this event. It’s awesome to see people who used to be very active in their unions are retired, but they’re still coming out because it’s important to them,” MacDonald said. One of those volunteers, Janine Lazaro, who also serves as the president of the Filipino Canadian Association of Saskatchewan, has been helping since 2015. She shared that the large turnout despite less-than-ideal weather conditions proves how dedicated the community is to the event. “Seeing all of these people and making them happy makes me want to come every year. For me, labour means, unity and people that work for this community to prosper and to make us a good community that we want to live in,” Lazaro said. She added that it is promising to know that the roots of the long weekend are still known and celebrated in Saskatoon. “Knowing the history makes us stronger. And knowing that before, we [didn’t] have this unity. And because of the unity of the labor movement, this is exactly the outcome of that,” Lazaro said.
