I didn't have to go into the office today because it's Simcoe Day. At least that's what we call this holiday here in Toronto. The question is, who the hell is this Simcoe guy?
In a nutshell, and shamelessly copied and pasted from Wikipedia, John Graves Simcoe (February 25, 1752 – October 26, 1806) was the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada (modern-day southern Ontario plus the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior) from 1791-1796. He founded York (now Toronto) and was instrumental in introducing institutions such as the courts, trial by jury, English common law, freehold land tenure, and for abolishing slavery in Upper Canada long before it was abolished in the British Empire as a whole (it had disappeared from Upper Canada by 1810, but wasn't abolished throughout the Empire until 1834).
He sounds like a grand fellow, and worthy of a holiday. Simcoe named the T.Dot York after Frederick, Duke of York, George III's second son.
I think almost all Canadians get today off, but it's only Simcoe day in Toronto. Depending on where you live it's got a different name, with the default being Civic Day. I suggest we unify the country, make it a stat day and call it "Too Hot To Work Day".
