Families are a good thing.

No one will dispute that.

And having a special day to celebrate the importance of families is a pretty good thing, too.

And while many will agree that making that day a full-fledged day off work helps to emphasize the family's importance in our way of life, lots of folks can offer some pretty effective rationale that making it a statutory holiday was unnecessary.

Many a persuasive case has been made that B.C.'s new Family Day - which will make its inaugural appearance on the second Monday in February 2013 - has more political justification than societal.

The suggestion is that Family Day is just one more straw being grasped by a fading BC Liberal government led by a fading Premier Christy Clark.

Clark, of course, says she is proud to have added an extra day to the list of B.C. holidays. She has made it clear, time and again, that she stands solidly on a "families first" agenda, so the introduction of a Family Day holiday is really just an affirmation of the basic beliefs that helped place her behind the premier's desk.

Some, however, simply see it - along with her apparent pride - as proof that she's politicizing families to try and rebuild some support for her party and for herself.

Clark's decision to throw a bucket of money at Family Day isn't strengthening her case, either. She is in charge of a province that is seriously strapped for cash - the government's civil servants and those who rely on the services they provide are constantly reminded of it.

A million and a half bucks does seem a great deal to spend on a party when you're constantly complaining that you don't have enough money to pay your regular bills.

- B.G.