Turning B.C. Day into Terry Fox Day would be a good idea and make the summer long weekend a holiday worth celebrating.
Manitoba officially plans to dedicate its August civic holiday to Port Coquitlam hometown hero and B.C. should do the same. The Manitoba connection is admittedly strong - Fox was born there in 1958 - but he grew up here and came up with the idea of his gruelling cross-country run at home in Port Coquitlam.
Fox is also buried here and honouring his contributions with the long weekend Monday seems fitting and would give some needed substance to the day.
Currently, the most that can be said for B.C. day is that it is a welcome break and a summer holiday tradition, and gives an anchor to many a camping or cross-country holiday. If most of us are asked by tourists "What is B.C. Day?" we likely can only hide an embarrassed smile.
Asked what Terry Fox Day means to British Columbians and you are likely to get a thorough, heartfelt dissertation on the PoCo hero, his qualities and accomplishments.
Let's do it.
