Most Canadians are lucky enough to catch up on some sleep when the clocks roll back an hour on Sunday, but an Ontario politician believes it could be the last time for people in the country’s most populous province.
Jeremy Roberts, who represents the riding of Ottawa West-Nepean, introduced a private member’s bill in October 2020 that would end the biannual daylight saving time change in Ontario.
The bill, which passed the following month with unanimous support, would move the province to permanent daylight saving time. Ontarians would benefit from an extra hour of daylight at the end of the day in exchange for the hour in the morning.
“I have always really hated the time change, especially the change of back to school time,” said Mr. Roberts.
“I find it just awful when you come home from work in the afternoon and it’s already dark outside and you feel like you can’t go out.”
Prior to introducing the bill, Mr. Roberts consulted with people he said favor extra daylight in the evening.
He said, however, that Ontario must wait until its two largest neighbors are on board before making the change.
“As for New York State, we have a lot of cross-border commerce, but on top of that, we also benefit from being in the same time zone as the New York City markets, so we didn’t want to do anything. to disrupt that ”.
Mr. Roberts added that he contacted the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, and the Governor of New York State, Kathy Hochul.
Mr. Legault told him and the public that Quebec was in favor of the idea of keeping daylight saving time, said Mr. Roberts.
There has been no feedback from Ms Hochul, but a bill has been submitted to the New York State Legislature to propose maintaining daylight saving time year round. Complicating matters is that even if the state opted for this solution, it would still have to wait for Congress to approve it.
British Columbia has already decided to stick with daylight saving time, but is waiting for southern states to follow suit. The Yukon decided last year to no longer make seasonal changes and now follows its own time zone. Saskatchewan is not changing its clocks.
Last month, Albertans who voted in a referendum narrowly rejected the change to permanent daylight saving time. Psychologists specializing in circadian rhythms had warned that the change would mean parts of Alberta wouldn’t see the sun rise in winter until 10 a.m.
Studies from around the world have linked changing the clock to increased traffic accidents, depression, decreased productivity, and increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. .
This is especially the case in the spring, when the clocks are pulled forward and an hour of sleep is lost, said Joseph De Koninck, of the Brain and Mind Research Institute at the University of Ottawa. .
De Koninck agrees that we need to stop changing clocks, but suggests that sticking to daylight saving time all year round is the worst option.
Standard time is the best choice for the health of the general population, as it is more in line with solar time and people’s body clocks, the sleep expert said.
If Ontario switches to permanent standard time, he says, cities like Ottawa won’t see dawn until around 8:45 a.m. in December and January.
“A lot of people would go to work in the dark, which is the worst thing that can happen to your body clock because you need the exposure to daylight in the morning to start your body clock.”
Mr De Koninck added that having more light later in the day could have economic benefits, as it could boost consumption after work. But it would also increase mood disorders, weaken the immune system and increase the risk of certain cancers.
He cited the example of Russia, a country as far north as Canada, which switched to permanent daylight saving time in 2011, only to drop it three years later. Studies have shown that this particularly affects children and their school performance, the researcher said.
Mr De Koninck says it doesn’t make sense for provinces to align with US states that are further south and generally have more light hours in winter.
“Politicians and businessmen who want to have the light late in the day for different activities, like golf … but people are not told what it will mean for them in December.”