Monday, August 6, 2012, marks the second long weekend of summer here in Ontario, Canada where the OpenSRS offices are located. In some parts of Canada, the first Monday in August is known as the Civic Holiday. However, in beautiful Toronto, we celebrate the Civic Holiday as Simcoe Day, in honour of John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada.
It seems that the rest of Canada has the City of Toronto to thank for this August long weekend (much to the chagrin of our fellow Canucks in Vancouver, who don’t think anything good ever comes out of the city at the Centre of the Universe). Toronto’s City Council is credited for coming up with the idea for a summer day of recreation way back in 1869.
The first Civic Holiday was celebrated in Toronto in 1875 and the idea spread across the rest of the nation in the years following.
Holiday hours
Putting the rest of the history lesson aside for a moment, Simcoe Day really means most of the staff at OpenSRS will have the day off. That said, Reseller Support will be here to help you out as usual throughout the weekend, and holiday Monday as well.
Here are the hours of operation during the holiday:
Our reseller support team continues to be available 24/7 to assist you.
Hours by department:
| Department | Dates and hours |
|---|---|
| Reseller support | Regular hours |
| Payments | Email support: [email protected] |
| Compliance | Closed August 6th (Monday) |
| Service bureau (for transactions requiring manual processing) | Closed August 6th (Monday) |
More about Simcoe Day
John Graves Simcoe was a British soldier who distinguished himself during the American Revolutionary War, earning an appointment in 1777 to lead the elite Queen’s Rangers regiment. In 1781 he returned to England, where he was later elected to the House of Commons. He arrived in what later became known as Niagara-on-the-Lake in 1792 and established the provincial capital – known then as Newark.
The threat of invading Americans right across the narrow Niagara River led him to look for a more secure capital. He found a great spot not far away on the north side of Lake Ontario near the abandoned French fort of Toronto.
In June 1793, Simcoe and his entourage arrived in Toronto on three ships, having sailed across the lake from Newark, and established Fort York. Each year on Simcoe Day, there are historical reenactments at the Fort (pictured above), which still stands as a National Historic site just a few minutes’ walk from the Tucows offices.