B.C. is (finally) adopting permanent daylight saving time | Georgia Straight Vancouver’s source for arts, culture, and events

1 of 1 2 of 1 Get the best of Vancouver in your inbox, every Tuesday and Thursday. Sign up for our free newsletter.Say goodbye to changing your clocks twice per year. Today (March 2), Premier David Eby announced that B.C. will be making daylight saving time permanent. That means the clocks “springing forward” on March 8 will be the last time the hour shift happens. "Every parent knows that changing clocks twice a year causes a significant amount of chaos on already busy lives. British Columbians have been clear that seasonal time changes do not work for them," says Eby in a press release. "This decision isn't just about clocks. It's about making life easier for families, reducing disruptions for businesses and supporting a stable, thriving economy.” Permanent daylight saving time has been a topic of discussion for many years. The abolition of daylight saving time was proposed at least as far back as 2017, when Grand Forks tabled a resolution at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention suggesting the west coast scraps it. The B.C. government sought public input on making the change all the way back in 2019. At the time, a record response of more than 220,000 people saw 93 percent of respondents say they would like it to be light an hour later in the evenings the whole year round. That year, the B.C. legislature passed legislation that would make permanent DST contingent upon the same measure being passed in the Yukon, Washington, Oregon, and California. While the Yukon ditched clock-swapping in 2020 to permanently set itself at UTC-7 year-round, the U.S. states have not adopted similar legislation. So, after seven years of waiting and citing “recent actions from the U.S.”, it seems that B.C. has decided to ignore the U.S. entirely and do its own thing. “I am hopeful that our American neighbours will soon join us in ending disruptive time changes," Eby adds. The new time zone sets B.C. at UTC -7, aligned year-round with the Yukon. From November to March, B.C. will be in the same time zone as Alberta; and from March to November, B.C. will be in the same time zone as Pacific daylight regions like California and Washington. "This shift offers more stability, supports public well-being and reduces twice-yearly, unnecessary disruptions to the routines of parents, shift workers, small businesses, pet owners and so many more,” says attorney general Niki Sharma in a statement. “I look forward to all of us enjoying an extra hour of sunlight after work and school for many winters to come."Not everyone is thrilled, however. In a statement, Ryan Mitton, the director of legislative affairs for B.C. at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, called the change "rushed". “Today’s announcement will be a surprise to small businesses and comes after a rushed and limited consultation process," he says. "While some may be relieved not to change the clocks each year, the lack of coordination with other jurisdictions risks causing confusion and disruption." Join the discussion Facebook comments not loading? Please check your browser settings to ensure that it is not blocking Facebook from running on straight.com