VANCOUVER—First it was Saskatchewan, and now B.C. is poised to abandon switching the clock twice a year.

The question now: Will the rest of the country follow suit?

On Thursday, Attorney General David Eby is set to introduce enabling legislation that would pave the way for eliminating seasonal time changes toward a new time zone called Pacific Time.

But B.C. residents will still need to change their clocks this weekend and in the spring, according to Jen Holmwood, deputy communications director for the office of the premier.

The legislation would not require areas in the North and the Kootenays, which observe Mountain Time in step with their neighbouring Albertans, to change their time observance practices.

Longtime proponent for eliminating the biannual time changes, Werner Antweiler, said in an interview with Star Vancouver that the proposed change in B.C. could be sparked from momentum in several U.S. states, such as California that have passed laws that would end the time change.

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Since the momentum is building, it’s likely other provinces and territories would consider making a similar move for economic reasons, he added.

“We have been mostly co-ordinating with the United States on our time. For example, when the United States switched to a longer daylight-saving time period during the year, extending it a couple of weeks in the spring and fall, we did the same to stay co-ordinated. We don’t want to be out of sync with our neighbours,” said Antweiler.

The measure was initiated as an attempt to make better use of natural light and thereby reduce energy costs, the Toronto Star explained in an editorial this year.

The concept was devised by a New Zealander and a Briton in the late 19th century and popularized in Germany. In Canada, people in Thunder Bay, Ont., began changing the clocks in 1908 and much of the rest of the country followed over the next decade.

But, according to a report a year ago in Forbes magazine, it accomplishes none of the goals usually attributed to it: that it saves fuel and conserves energy, helps farmers, improves safety and provides a global standard.

In fact, only about half the countries in the world use Daylight Saving Time.

Research also shows the time switch is a health hazard.

It’s like imposing a “one-hour jet lag on the entire population,” Antweiler said. Even if most people cope with the change just fine, a small percentage who suffer from lost sleep and get into accidents make the time change a more dangerous period for everyone.

“The key issue here is that switching forward and back is not only cumbersome but it’s also fraught with costs,” Antweiler said. “Originally, it was meant as a resource saving exercise — (but) there is really no argument anymore that daylight-saving time is going to save anything.”

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In August, a public engagement survey conducted for the province showed 93 per cent of British Columbians want to scrap the practice of changing their clocks twice a year in favour of permanent daylight time. Currently, daylight time begins in early spring in British Columbia and ends in the fall, with the result that daylight ends earlier in the evening starting in November.

A total of 223,273 British Columbians completed the province’s survey on the subject, or just under five per cent of the total population. Over 90 per cent of people in all regions of the province supported abolishing the practice of changing their clocks twice a year (“spring forward, fall back”), with the overwhelming preference being to stay in daylight time the whole year.

With files from Alex McKeen and Toronto Star

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