Editing Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (section)

==The ''Fête nationale''==
[[file:Sjb-day-fireworks.jpg|right|thumb|[[Fireworks]] over the [[Parliament Building (Quebec)|Parliament Building]] in [[Quebec City]] on the eve of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day]]

In Quebec, June 24 ([[Nativity of St. John the Baptist|Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day]]), or Provincial Holiday, is officially a paid [[Public holidays in Canada|statutory public holiday]] covered under the ''Act Respecting Labour Standards''.<ref name="National Holiday Act" /><ref name="National Holiday" /><ref name="An Act Respecting Labour Standards" /> In 1977, an [[Order in Council]] by [[Lieutenant Governor of Quebec|Lieutenant Governor]] [[Hugues Lapointe]], on the advice of [[Premier of Quebec|Premier]] [[René Lévesque]], declared June 24 the provincial holiday in Quebec.

The following year, the National Holiday Organizing Committee ({{langx|fr|Comité organisateur de la fête nationale}}) was created. The committee initially entrusted the organization of the events to the ''Société des festivals populaires du Québec''. In 1984, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the SSJB, the organization of the celebrations was entrusted to the sovereigntist ''[[Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois]]'' (MNQ).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fete nationale 'isn't what it once was' |url=http://www.therecord.com/news-story/4595552-fete-nationale-isn-t-what-it-once-was-/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904081524/http://www.therecord.com/news-story/4595552-fete-nationale-isn-t-what-it-once-was-/ |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |access-date=June 25, 2014 |publisher=Therecord.com}}</ref><ref>MNQ. "[http://www.fetenationale.qc.ca/la-fete-nationale-du-quebec-et-le-mouvement-national-des-quebecoises-et-quebecois-mnq.html La Fête nationale du Québec et le Mouvement national des Québécoises et Québécois (MNQ) ] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624040208/http://www.fetenationale.qc.ca/la-fete-nationale-du-quebec-et-le-mouvement-national-des-quebecoises-et-quebecois-mnq.html |date=June 24, 2008 }}", in the site of the ''Mouvement national des Québécoises et Québécois'', 2008. Retrieved June 21, 2008</ref><ref>SSJB Mauricie. "[http://www.ssjbmauricie.qc.ca/action/fetenationale/historique.php Fête nationale] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627154427/http://www.ssjbmauricie.qc.ca/action/fetenationale/historique.php |date=June 27, 2008 }}", in the site of the ''Saint-Jean-Baptiste of Mauricie'', 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2008</ref>

By making it a statutory holiday, the day became a holiday for all Quebecers rather than only those of French-Canadian or Catholic origins. Celebrations were gradually secularized, primarily due to actions taken by the MNQ, and June 23 and 24 became as they are now known. Many festivities take place on the night before the holiday proper.<ref name=mg/>

While the religious significance of the civic celebration is gone, the day remains popularly called ''la St-Jean-Baptiste'' or simply ''la St-Jean'' (notably by businesses), and is still observed in churches.

In 2010 and 2011, Franco-Ontarian [[New Democratic Party (Canada)|New Democratic]] MP [[Claude Gravelle]] introduced a [[private member's bill]] in the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] to recognize Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day as a federal holiday in Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Canadian Parliament |url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/LegisInfo/BillDetails.aspx?billId=4572745&Language=E&Mode=1&View=10 |access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref><ref name="NDP">{{Cite web |title=NDP |url=http://claudegravelle.ndp.ca/post/gravelle-tables-bill-making-saint-jean-baptiste-a-national-holiday |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016123154/http://claudegravelle.ndp.ca/post/gravelle-tables-bill-making-saint-jean-baptiste-a-national-holiday |archive-date=October 16, 2015 |access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref>