Most Canadians set back an hour this weekend

A majority of Canadians will get an extra hour of sleep this weekend as the clocks roll back with the end of Daylight Savings Time.

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 6, which brings us back to standard time.

The debate over ending seasonal clock changes gained momentum in Ontario in October 2020 when then-legislator Jeremy Roberts introduced a private member’s bill that would end the clock change. half-yearly hour in Ontario, if Quebec and New York did the same.

The bill passed unanimously and would put the province on permanent daylight saving time. Quebec Premier Francois Legault hinted he was not opposed, but said the issue was not a priority, and no one else championed Roberts’ cause at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since being removed from office in June.

British Columbia passed similar legislation the previous year to stick with daylight saving time, but is also waiting for some southern states to follow suit.

The Yukon decided in 2020 to no longer make seasonal changes and now follows its own standard time zone. Saskatchewan hasn’t changed its clocks in over 100 years, with the exception of Lloydminster, which straddles the border with Alberta.

A unified end-times change seemed closer to becoming a reality in March after the US Senate unanimously approved Republican Senator Marco Rubio’s Sun Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent across the entire the country and, therefore, in much of Canada.

The bill still needs to pass the House of Representatives before President Joe Biden can approve it, and it remains stalled in the House.

Switch to permanent standard time, better for our health

But despite popular opinion and government legislation, experts say permanent daylight saving time could have adverse effects on people’s health and that it’s the standard time around which governments should move.

That’s because standard time is more in line with our natural circadian rhythm and internal biological clock, they said.

“All researchers of circadian rhythms and sleep are clear that permanent standard time should be adopted, we should not change time zones…for the sake of our health,” said Raymond Lam, a professor at the University of British Columbia and holder of the British Columbia Leadership Chair in Depression. to research.

“Unfortunately, for some reason, we can’t figure it out.”

A June 2022 report submitted to the Canadian Sleep Society by researchers from the University of Ottawa and the University of Montreal recommended that federal and provincial governments move to a standard time of one year and consult with scientists before implementing changes.

Michael Antle, a University of Calgary professor who studies circadian rhythms, said morning light keeps our bodies in sync with the day-night cycle when the days are really short in the winter, and the been permanent would cause “chronic damage by being chronically out of sync”.

Antle said research indicates that permanent daylight saving time would force us to get up an hour earlier for work and school in the winter, which could increase traffic and work accidents and see performance students fall at school, all because of a lack of vigilance.

“We’ve never had this experience in Canada of waking up to permanent daylight saving time in the winter, so people think it won’t be that bad until they try it,” he said. declared.

Antle pointed to Russia, a country as far north as Canada, which switched to permanent daylight saving time in 2011 only to abandon it three years later.

“They just couldn’t tolerate it…everyone who tried it gave it up,” Antle said, adding he wouldn’t be surprised if Yukon reconsidered soon.

Standard time will be in place until March 12, 2023, when the clocks will “go forward” again.