B.C. will ‘fall back’ yet again as it waits on U.S. to end daylight saving time

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Most British Columbians will change the clocks at 2 a.m. Sunday as Daylight Saving Time (DST) once again comes to an end.

It’s been three years since the province passed legislation to permanently stick to DST — but only if its American neighbours did too.

In March, the U.S. Senate unanimously voted to make DST permanent but it has since stalled in the House of Representatives.

READ MORE: Horgan says U.S. approval of permanent daylight saving time is good news for B.C.

“They would need to approve it as well so it can go to the president but they’re just sitting on it,” said National Public Radio Pacific Northwest correspondent Tom Banse.

And that may be because there’s a growing call to stick to standard time instead.

“There are an increasing number of voices on this side of the border saying, you know, it would probably be better for our health, the circadian rhythms, kids waiting for the school bus in the winter, that we had standard time the whole year,” said Banse.

Sleep experts in B.C. say the science agrees because later sunlight can mean less sleep.

“That results in what we call social jet lag where our bodies are out of synchrony with what’s going on with the sun clock,” said Wendy Hall, a professor with UBC School of Nursing.

Just last week Mexico voted to scrap DST altogether and stick with the lighter mornings of standard time.

But some argue having more sunlight at the end of the day is a better choice.

“At least we have time to get out and enjoy the light whether we’re walking the dogs or playing with the kids we’re doing it in the daylight,” said Bob Dieno, co-founder of Stop the Time Change B.C.

While some believe next spring will be the last time we change our clocks, others aren’t so certain U.S. lawmakers are ready to pull the trigger just yet.

April LawrenceApril Lawrence

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