Opinion: B.C.’s winter of dark discontentment — aka Pacific time — is about to begin

In the good ol’ days, we would all be waking up Sunday with an extra hour of sleep and the prospect of a brighter morning.

Instead, our winter of dark discontentment begins in earnest, as British Columbians enter the great social experiment that is perpetual daylight saving time. As a parting gift to the electorate, one of Premier-defeated David Eby and his party’s lasting legacies will be making our dark winter mornings even darker. I, for one, am not looking forward to sunrise on Christmas morning at 9:06 a.m. I hope Santa got the memo.

In a news release sent out March 2 of this year, the province’s attorney-general touted the move to permanent daylight saving time (dubbed Pacific Time by the government) as one that will “improve people’s overall health, reduce disruptions for families, simplify scheduling, and provide an extra hour of evening light during the winter months.” Lots to unpack there but, first and foremost, a little misleading as that extra hour of light will be in the late afternoon, not the evening. Back to Christmas Day — the sun will set at 5:16 p.m. instead of an hour earlier.

The news release goes on to say this bold move was taken following an “overwhelming majority of people in B.C” — some 93 per cent of 223,000 who participated in a survey — supported adopting year-round daylight saving time. Fair enough, the NDP do like their mandates. The bi-annual clock winding did have research backing up that for a week or so following the shift forward and back, there is an increase in health problems and car accidents.

What is puzzling, however, and what will reveal itself in the coming weeks and months, is that if you are going to stop the annual watch winding, permanent standard time — not permanent daylight saving time — is the one experts cite as the preferable one. Why? Standard time is more in keeping with the natural cycle of the sun. That earlier morning light resets the body’s internal clock (the circadian rhythm thing). Further, earlier morning light improves sleep quality, boosts alertness and, according to experts, lowers risks of sleep deprivation, heart issues and mental health struggles. In addition, that earlier light makes for safer morning commutes, particularly for children walking to school.

The news release did tout that one of the big benefits of the new Pacific Time reality is that there will be “more usable light in the evenings in winter, allowing more leisure time, participation in outdoor activities, and consumer activity.” The latter, presumably, to purchase hi-viz and reflective clothing.

There are three examples of countries going the permanent daylight saving time route, and all were miserable failures.

The United Kingdom and Ireland adopted it from 1968 to 1971, and despite an 11 per cent drop in road casualties due to brighter late afternoons, parliament voted 366 to 81 to go back to the old system in early 1971. The northern Scots were the most aggrieved, with sunrises after 10 a.m. in midwinter affecting farmers, construction workers and, most importantly for elected parliamentarians, parents.

Clearly not a student of history, in January 1974, U.S. President Richard Nixon established it in response to the OPEC oil embargo. Long story short, public approval disappeared following multiple student traffic fatalities, including eight children in Florida. Tricky Dick’s successor Gerald Ford, with the backing of Congress, repealed the law in October of that year, and in April of 1975 clocks fell back again.