by Rick Nason, PhD, CFA
Partner, RSD Solutions Inc.
This past Monday was Victoria Day – a holiday in Canada, but ironically not a holiday in Britain. Victoria Day of course celebrates Queen Victoria – a queen that no one currently living remembers, and a Queen who ruled over the Victorian era.
Victoria Day is a welcomed holiday in Canada. It basically marks the first reliable weekend of decent weather and thus it is a weekend for the first tennis tournaments of the season, races, baseball tryouts etc. In Canada we all like the Victoria Day Holiday.
However, there is one thing about Victoria Day that bothers Canadians and it comes up every year. That issue is, “Why the heck do we celebrate this monarch who no one really remembers and what exactly did this monarch do for Canada that is worthy of celebrating?” Now before the monarchists send me angry letters, I am highly confident that there are many legitimate reasons for this holiday, but the point is very few people know why we do.
It is a bit like many risk management systems and procedures. There may (or may not) have been legitimate reasons for why they were put in place originally, but few people now know or understand why. Other systems and procedures have been in place for so long that no one questions why they exist. Perhaps it is a good time to ask some questions and see if things need to be freshened-up.
In the meantime, I am going to enjoy the beautiful weather we have on this holiday Monday.
No comments:
Post a Comment