A Story Worth Knowing: How we lost Dominion Day

By GREG FELTON, Montreal Gazette, June 30, 2010: At 4 p.m. on a Friday – July 9, 1982 -the House of Commons met with only one item on the agenda: Bill C-201, a private member’s bill to change the name of the July 1 holiday from “Dominion Day” to “Canada Day.” About a dozen of the 282 members the House showed up for work, which presented a procedural problem: A quorum of at least 20 members is required to conduct business, so, officially, no bills could be passed. Nevertheless, Bill C-201 was given second and third reading. At 4:05 p.m., our hard-working representatives called it a day. [Read the rest of the story here.]