REGINA, SK: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today announced the winner of a contest to name today’s holiday that only provincial bureaucrats get to enjoy: They-Play-We-Pay Holiday.

Saskatchewan government employees have a provision in their contract that provides an extra paid holiday each year. This year the paid holiday falls on July 29.

“Until now, this special bureaucrat-only holiday was known as the ‘floating holiday,’ but that just doesn’t seem like a very festive name,” said Todd MacKay, Prairie Director for the CTF. “We asked our Saskatchewan supporters what to call this special day and they picked They-Play-We-Pay Holiday.”

Runner-up recommendations included:

• Second Place – Beerocrat Friday – the day when all Saskatchewanians want to skip work and have a pilsner on a patio, but only bureaucrats get to actually do it.
• Third Place – Civilservitus – it’s like Festivus, but for bureaucrats and not the rest of us.

While the idea of an extra long weekend for provincial employees may be joke provoking, it highlights the more important issue of limiting costs associated with perks for bureaucrats. Saskatchewan is currently running an operational deficit of $434 million.

“Saskatchewan is back in deficit right now and we can’t afford to be giving provincial employees an extra paid day off while the rest of us still have to go to work,” said MacKay.