B.C. enters new era of year-round Pacific time

The province says stopping seasonal clock changes should help reduce disruptions to sleep, school schedules, and daily routines. It also expects the change to make scheduling easier and reduce extra work for businesses that used to adjust systems every spring and fall.

The change has strong public support. In a 2019 provincial survey with 223,000 participants, 93 percent supported switching to year-round daylight saving time, according to the province.

Businesses also support the change, though some adjustments are expected.

Jen Riley, president and CEO of the British Columbia Chamber of Commerce, said members have wanted to end the twice-yearly clock change for about a decade. They noted the transition might cause a small inconvenience for a few days, and that tired parents after clock changes can affect workplace productivity.

Working with customers and colleagues in places that still change their clocks may also take some getting used to.

Darker mornings could have some drawbacks. University of British Columbia economist Patrick Baylis said productivity might drop if less morning light affects workers’ sleep. He also mentioned studies showing school exam scores go down in areas with later mornings.

Not all parts of B.C. follow the same time-zone rules.

Communities in northeastern B.C., like Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Chetwynd, and Tumbler Ridge, will keep using Mountain Standard Time all year. Since MST is also UTC-7, their clocks will match most of B.C., even though they don’t have to use the PCT label.

In southeastern B.C., communities like Cranbrook, Fernie, Kimberley, Golden, Invermere, and Sparwood will stay on Alberta time and use Mountain Daylight Time at UTC-6 all year.

The law that lets B.C. make this change passed in 2019, but the province waited to coordinate with nearby U.S. states.

But for most British Columbians, the main thing to remember this weekend is simple: when Sunday comes, don’t touch the clocks.

by Dave Branco

B.C. enters new era of year-round Pacific time

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