When the clocks spring forward this weekend, most of B.C. will adopt Daylight Saving Time for good.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
It’s dark as I’m writing this. It should be; it’s 5 a.m.
When it shouldn’t be dark is when kids are walking to school. Which is the future British Columbia must brace itself for, beginning this fall.
With great fanfare – and adorable children dancing to Daft Punk’s One More Time – B.C. Premier David Eby announced on Monday that when the clocks spring forward this weekend, it will be the final time-change adjustment (hence the song). Most of B.C. will be sticking to Daylight Saving Time for good.
“Here’s to a future where kids and pets get the sleep that they need, and the grown-ups too,” Mr. Eby said.
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The time change is indeed hard on young children (and their parents). But it’s a hardship for a few days, and “hardship” is a bit of a stretch.
Dark mornings for weeks on end? That is another matter. Lord help the parents trying to pry teenagers from warm beds when mom can’t even roll up a window shade to produce the sunlight needed as evidence that it is time to rise and shine.
More concerning is sending kids out the door when it’s still dark outside. It will be extremely unpleasant – and potentially dangerous, as cars lurk, their groggy operators heading to work in less than optimal visibility conditions (times 1,000, if it’s raining).
You know who will benefit? The reflective clothing industry. Big Reflective Gear is no doubt applauding this decision.
Yes, it’s great news that it won’t be dark at 5 p.m. in Vancouver. But dark when you are heading home for the day is preferable to dark in the morning when you are setting out for the day, or trying to.
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The government tells us the change will also “simplify scheduling.” Uh, no. B.C. will no longer be time-aligned with the U.S. west coast from November until March, which is just weird. Time zone calculations with the rest of the country (and world) will also become more complicated (although not difficult to overcome, granted).
B.C. will be aligned with Yukon year-round and on the same time zone as Alberta from November until March. And Alberta says it may follow B.C.’s lead. B.C. communities that are already on Mountain Time will not be affected by this change – other than that they’ll be in alignment with the rest of the province in the winter, which will no doubt be welcome.
Mr. Eby said this week that the province is “done waiting” for the U.S. to adopt a similar policy, and said he hopes B.C.’s decision will push the issue stateside.
B.C. is citing a 2019 public consultation that found respondents overwhelmingly supported ditching the twice-a-year clock changes. But many British Columbians don’t want the time change without the rest of the west coast. As the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade points out, that same consultation found that only 19 per cent of Lower Mainland residents said the province should adopt year-round DST without neighbouring jurisdictions. The organization is calling the “unliteral” time change an “unwelcome distraction” that will create “an additional headache” for businesses on both sides of the border, and make it more difficult to attract and retain businesses in B.C.
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There are health benefits to ditching the time change. A Stanford Medicine study, which the government cites, found that changing the clocks disrupts circadian rhythms, leading to higher rates of stroke and obesity. But the study found sticking with Standard Time, not Daylight Saving Time, is more beneficial. It’s not buried in the fine print, either. The headline is literally: “Study suggests most Americans would be healthier without daylight saving time.”
It also notes that a permanent DST trial that started in 1974 was so unpopular it was abandoned after less than a year. “Among the objectors were parents worried about their children going to school in the dark.”
So if eliminating the clock changes is the objective, why not stick with Standard Time?
And why now? Could it be the record-deficit budget the Eby government just tabled, a cynic – or the Canadian Federation of Independent Business – might ask. “This appears motivated by an attempt to distract from the province’s $13-billion deficit, not genuine concern for the impacts of the time change,” the CFIB said on Monday, calling the consultation process rushed and limited.
I suppose we’ll get used to it, but mornings next winter are going to be dark – in every way.
And apologies in advance to whoever is within earshot of cranky British Columbians this fall when national news broadcasts cheerfully remind Canadians that they’ll be getting an extra hour of sleep the morning after Halloween as the clocks fall back – most Canadians, anyway. Very scary indeed.