Standard is best of times

Open letter to B.C. politicians: Thank you all for your excellent service to our communities.

I'm writing today to request your support for private member MLA Linda Larson's new bill in the B.C. Legislature to abolish Daylight Savings Time in B.C., and to put the province on Standard Time, all year.

As a licensed practical nurse, and resident of Oliver, I observe that every few months, when we continue to change our clocks back and forth, there are people one hour late or early for appointments, sick time increases, productivity decreases, children have difficulty waking up and being alert in school, diabetics and other people with medical conditions that require medications at specific times struggle, heart attacks increase, car accidents are more frequent, pedestrians are struck more by cars, and there is a general sense of upheaval among many residents, for various other reasons, in the days following time changes.

I ask that this issue receive non-partisan support, to study and understand the negative and positive effects of the time shift, and to pass legislation in B.C. that will change the Interpretation Act and consequential amendments.

In the fall and winter months, while there is naturally less sunlight anyway, we also turn back our clocks, so it becomes dark about 4 p.m. in the Okanagan Valley.

This is earlier in the east of the province, and in towns more mountainous than at the coast.

I've heard that we started changing the clocks for the farmers, for business, because the rest of the world was doing it, etc. Most farmers I've spoken to say their animals are used to a routine for being fed, and don't appreciate the time changes either.

The original bill to have Daylight Savings Time came in 1918, and was aimed at saving coal.

If a majority of people would like to keep the time changes to continue as they are, perhaps a referendum would settle this issue?

An Indigenous acquaintance of mine said it best, “Only the Government could tell you that if you cut a strip off the top of a blanket, and sew it onto the bottom, and then repeat that process every few months, then you would have a better blanket.” Please. It is time to consider the effects on our children and grandchildren, as we continue an old tradition of cutting and sewing these strips of time. Jaret Blidook Oliver