To change or not to change as Sunday marks the beginning of daylight saving time.
While British Columbia residents will jump forward once again, not everyone is happy about it.
“I wish it would stay the same,” a local told CHEK News. “I think I don’t like the time change at all. I like to see the daytime a little earlier. And the daylight a little longer.”
In 2019, former Premier John Horgan introduced legislation to stop the time changes.
“Today is a very good day for those who are tired of changing their clocks,” Horgan said at the time. “We heard overwhelmingly from British Columbians that they wanted to stop the process of falling and springing forward.”
But jump forward four years, the wait is on for the United States to coordinate its time changes, according to B.C. Premier David Eby.
“In terms of our provincial approach, it hasn’t changed,” Eby said Wednesday.
“One of the things we’ve said is we are going to work in partnership with the United States. In particular, the states down the western coast as well as the Yukon, to make sure that we move in sync. I understand that’s the position of Yukon government as well.”
Dr. Michael Pollock, a psychology instructor at Camosun College, agrees with the health benefits of eliminating daylight saving time altogether.
“All the sleep experts are in unison that the best-case scenario is to have a permanent standard time. Just go back to the original,” Pollock said.
Next week, as people adjust to the time change, research shows the risks as people adjust to an hour less sleep.
“You see more accidents, also risk of cardio-vascular instances. So if you have any risk of heart attack or stroke, that tends to go at that time change,” Pollock added.
“I think all of us would be delighted to see the back end of daylight saving time.”
But for that change to happen, it will take more time.
WATCH: B.C. will ‘fall back’ yet again as it waits on U.S. to end daylight saving time
Mary Griffin
