There is public support for a switch to permanent daylight time in British Columbia and Ontario, which have passed laws to allow the change, but the potential costs and risks of going it alone are holding up the move, say business and political experts.
Prof. Andrey Pavlov at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie school of business in Burnaby is among those who support making the change permanent. “I just worry if we’re the only ones who do it, that’s going to hurt us,” he said.
B.C. outlined a plan to switch permanently to daylight savings time in 2019, but the legislation did not set a date because the province is waiting for Washington, Oregon and California to also approve the change.
Premier John Horgan’s government introduced the legislation after a public survey showed 93 per cent of almost 225,000 respondents were in favour of not having a time change.
“I had hoped this was the last time three years ago, when we passed legislation,” Horgan said during a media availability on Friday.
Horgan said the government heard “loud and clear” from citizens and the business community that it makes sense to be aligned with Washington, Oregon and California.
“And all three of those states have made commitments to move in that direction,” said Horgan. “Oregon and Washington have passed legislation but they require congressional approval in Washington, D.C. to suspend the changing of clocks twice a year.”
Horgan hailed as good news the fact that Senator Patty Murray from Washington is now co-sponsoring a bill. “We’re hopeful that it will pass this year, and this may well be the last time that we spring forward,” he said.
The move to permanent daylight time has become a passionate issue for many Canadians, but it may not be as welcome as people believe, because mornings will be darker during winter months, said Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto’s political science department.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen, but if it does happen, you just watch the clamour for going back,” he said in an interview from Birmingham, Alabama. “You’re going to have people complaining that it’s pitch dark at nine o’clock in the morning in winter.”
Sleep experts from Simon Fraser University told Horgan three years ago that moving to permanent daylight time would result in 67 days of decreased morning sunlight compared with staying on standard time.
Wiseman said he agreed that it is not practical for B.C. or Ontario to move to permanent daylight time if their nearby trading partners don’t make the same move.
But he said despite the governments of both provinces supporting the permanent change, it likely won’t occur because getting universal agreement among various jurisdictions is difficult.
“I’m surprised it passed legislatures, but of course, you need that proviso, which sort of ensures that it isn’t going to happen,” said Wiseman.
Ontario’s Time Amendment Act, passed in November 2020, says the province will move to permanent daylight time when its neighbours in Quebec and New York state do the same.
Quebec’s premier has also said his government is open to a permanent time.
Pavlov said making the change ahead of neighbouring jurisdictions could have economic effects, which include losing customers and suppliers.
“If we do it alone, I’m not sure I would be in favour of that because of the economic consequences,” he said. “The economic impact of that may be quite significant.”
The issues for business if the switch is made alone include everything from computer systems to opening hours being out of alignment, he said.
“Each one of those sounds small, but when it adds together, I think, being out of sync would have a significant economic impact.”
Last October, Albertans narrowly voted against the province adopting year-round daylight time. The referendum question from the United Conservative Party government was put to voters on municipal election ballots.
— With files from Cindy E. Harnett, Times Colonist
