Could Sunday be last time we have to shift our clocks forward?
Posted March 9, 2018 4:12 pm.
Last Updated March 9, 2018 4:18 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
KAMLOOPS (NEWS 1130) – As most British Columbians get ready to spring their clocks forward this weekend for Daylight Saving Time, there’s renewed hope this might be the last time we have to lose an hour of sleep.
A Kamloops group pushing for a referendum to coincide with this year’s municipal elections is suggesting it may not be necessary.
Bob Dieno, the co-founder of Stop the Time Change, says there is a chance it could happen even sooner with a little more support from the provincial government.
“Through orders of council as compared to legislation, so which means they don’t have to pass it through the legislation the same way. Makes it a lot easier. They could just put it forward, vote and it’d be done. We could see it happen next week.”
Earlier this week, Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth could only confirm a possible change is under review. “That’s something I’m still looking at in terms of the best way to approach it.”
Guy Occhiogrosso, the President of Bellingham’s Chamber of Commerce, is not worried about Washington State no longer syncing up with BC.
“One of the things that we’ll probably have to figure out before any policy changes is what’s the future of retail? Historically, daylight hours are when you go shopping or go to restaurants.”
He believes the impact of a permanent time change in BC would be minimal on Washington State.
“How is the paradigm shifting from a retail perspective. Once we figure out that, we’ll be able to figure out how we can go forward. There’s often conversations, even state-side, about what that would look like. Is there a reason for it? What was the original purpose, in that there’s always debate over what happened and why it exists.”
Legislators in Florida are currently working on a bill that would make that state the first to adopt year-round daylight saving time, but the earliest that can happen is next year.
Alberta recently backed away from plans to get rid of the time change because of concerns raised by airline operators and sports teams who complained about that screwing up their schedules.
