This year Canada Day falls on a Sunday, which means Monday, July 2 is officially Canada Day and organizers in Pugwash, N.S. are honouring that rule.
But in following Ottawa’s guidelines, the organizers in Pugwash have been denied federal funding this year, throwing a wrench in their Canada Day celebrations.
As in other years, organizers of the annual Gathering of the Clans applied for federal funding under the Canada Celebrates program, which usually amounts to about $1,500.
“This year we were disallowed. It was not approved because the date of the event is outside of their program,” says event coordinator Lisa Betts.
Heritage Canada provides funding for Canada Day events held between June 21 and July 1, but historically the Gathering of the Clans has been held on the holiday, so organizers set the event for Monday.
“It seems to be a very mixed message,” says Betts. “From the Department of Labour and Labour Canada, Monday is the holiday, and from Canadian Heritage, it is not included as a holiday. So which one is it?’
To make matters even more confusing, Pugwash received federal funding the last time this happened, back in 2007.
“That’s the way things go at times,” says Pugwash resident Brian Harrison. “It’s hard to make sense out of some of the things they do.”
“It doesn’t make any sense, considering it was the Canadian government that said they were moving it to Monday as the official day for Canada Day because it fell on a Sunday. It’s illogical,” says Pugwash resident Leisa Doucette.
Betts is hoping anyone who wants to attend the Gathering of the Clans events will get the message that it is being held on July 2, and she is hoping the federal government will clear up the funding confusion before the next time July 1 falls on a Sunday.
