Time to stop changing the clocks

Photo: Contributed

B.C. Liberal Kelowna-Mission MLA Renee Merrifield

Many agree the seasonal time change is a confusing and often frustrating time of year.

The B.C. government brought in legislation in 2019 to stop changing our clocks but have yet to enact it.

How silly it is that we have self-driving cars and robots that can do backflips, but we can’t figure out how to stop changing the clocks back and forth?

I thought I would offer some lighthearted advice on how to survive this biannual event.

For starters, we could always try to make up for lost time by taking a nap during the day. Sure, your boss or, in my case, the Speaker of the House in the Legislative Assembly might not appreciate one dozing off, but just explain you're simply adjusting to the time change. I'm sure they'll understand...or at least pretend to.

Another option is to adopt a new sleep schedule altogether. Who says we have to adhere to this whole 24-hour day thing anyway? Maybe we could switch to a 25-hour day and make up for lost time that way. It's worth a shot, right?

If all else fails, we could always resort to extreme measures, like convincing the government to just do away with the time change altogether. I mean, if enough of us band together and sign a petition, anything is possible. Who needs daylight saving time anyway?

Oh wait, we did that already.

While B.C. listened to its residents who voiced their desire to stop changing the clocks, the government has been waiting for the U.S. to change its laws to follow suit. Some would argue that we don’t require others to follow suit, as both Saskatchewan and the Yukon do not change their clocks. Also, B.C.'s Peace Region and the Kootenay town of Creston have never changed their clocks for daylight time. (B.C.’s East Kootenay is currently aligned with the time in Alberta.)

A formal change for all of B.C. looked promising with a new law last fall when the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to make daylight time permanent across that country starting in November 2023. But the bill failed when the U.S. House of Representatives couldn't agree on whether to keep standard or daylight time.

But hope rises again as this last month a new bill was introduced in the U.S. congress to once again try to keep from moving to daylight saving time, called the Sunshine Protection Act.

Could this be the bill that brings our changing clocks to a halt once and for all?

I do wish to acknowledge the time change can be a challenging time for many people. It's important to prioritize self-care and take extra steps to ensure we're getting enough rest and staying healthy during this time.

And we know that it is even more difficult for parents, as children don’t often get the memo that they should be getting up an hour earlier or sleeping an hour later. Even parents of furry pets will struggle as their animals don’t often have clocks to watch.

And who knows? Maybe next year, we'll look back on this time and laugh. Or maybe we'll just be too busy adjusting to the next time change to even remember it. Either way, we'll get through it together, one cup of coffee at a time.

My question to you this week is this:

Do you think that we should wait for the rest of the western states to change their clocks before changing ours?

I love hearing from you, and I read every email that comes in. Please email me at [email protected] or call my office at 250-712-3620.

Renee Merrifield is the B.C. Liberal MLA for Kelowna-Mission.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.