B.C. is a step closer to scrapping the twice-a-year changing of clocks, Premier John Horgan said Tuesday after the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a measure that would make daylight saving time permanent across the United States next year.
“For B.C. families who have just had to cope with the disruptions of changing the clocks, the U.S. Senate bill passed today brings us another step toward ending the time changes in our province for good,” said Horgan.
The bipartisan bill, named the Sunshine Protection Act, still needs approval from the House of Representatives, and the signature of President Joe Biden, to become law.
Horgan maintains his government’s online polling of citizens in 2019, which drew a 93 per cent response in favour of eliminating the time change and opting for daylight time, shows high support for the move. Survey participants were asked whether they would prefer to continue changing their clocks twice a year or adopt daylight saving time year round. Moving to year-round standard time was not offered as an option.
Fifty-four per cent of respondents said it was “important” or “very important” for B.C. to align its time observance with neighbouring jurisdictions.
The response was record breaking, according to the province — higher than it received for its public consultations on cannabis regulation.
“That’s why we passed legislation that would enable us to do so quickly, with our intention to stay aligned with the western states of Washington, Oregon and California, as supported by a majority of survey respondents,” said Horgan.
Most areas of B.C. observe the time change, which sees the clocks “spring forward” to daylight saving time in the spring and fall back to standard time in the fall.
The change to permanent daylight time would mean B.C. would not turn back its clocks in November, making sunrise later in the winter months — it could be dark as late as 9 a.m. Pacific or later in northern communities.
B.C.’s former health minister Terry Lake said a move to permanent standard time “would be much better.”
“Basically sleep researchers agree our circadian rhythms are best served by standard time,” said Lake, who cited work in the field by Dr. Joseph Takahashi, chair of neuroscience at UT Southwestern, one of the world’s leading experts on biological clocks. “Sleep is undervalued as a health determinant.”
Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, the original co-sponsor of the legislation to move to permanent daylight time, said its approval would mean more daylight hours to spend outside after school and after work.
Markey was joined on the chamber floor by senators from both parties as they made the case that making daylight time permanent would have positive effects on public health and the economy and cut energy consumption.
“Changing the clock twice a year is outdated and unnecessary,” Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said.
The proposal will now go to the U.S. House, where the Energy and Commerce Committee had a hearing to discuss possible legislation last week.
Rep. Frank Pallone, the chairman of the committee, agreed in his opening statement at the hearing that it is “time we stop changing our clocks.” But he said he was undecided about whether daylight saving time or standard time is the way to go.
Horgan said while the bill still requires congressional approval before it can go to Biden to sign, “we’re well positioned in B.C. to do away with the time changes once and for all and move to permanent DST.”
ceharnett@timescolonist.com
