The B.C. government is planning to bring in legislation to move to daylight saving time year-round, Premier John Horgan says, but when and if that takes effect still depends on what U.S. states decide.

Horgan made the comment after a meeting with Yukon Premier Sandy Silver in Whitehorse Monday. The two premiers agreed that it’s important that West Coast jurisdictions stay synchronized in their time zones, and Silver said he will watch B.C.’s progress closely.

“I believe that if the West Coast moves in lockstep we’ll be better off,” Silver said.

Horgan said he is going to Oregon and Washington this week to meet with the governors whose state legislatures have already passed legislation to adopt daylight saving time permanently. B.C. legislation is expected to be tabled in the fall session that begins Oct. 7, he said.

Horgan noted that areas in the East Kootenay and B.C. Northeast are in the Mountain time zone, and they already stay on daylight time year-round.

Silver said keeping B.C. and Yukon coordinated for flights and other ties is important, and both want to work on further economic integration, including a shared energy corridor. Yukon wants to move past discussion about a single pipeline, such as the gas pipeline planned to cross northern B.C. to Kitimat, and into a broader discussion about electricity and fibre optic connections, he said.

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Horgan said electricity is a common goal, with the recent extension of the B.C. Hydro grid to the Northwest for mining projects.

“We want to see if we can get the grid to come to the Yukon, and the best place to start with that would be the Northwestern Transmission Line, which is almost here,” Horgan said.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer has promoted an energy corridor to the West Coast as part of his campaign for the Oct. 21 federal election.

@tomfletcherbc

tfletcher@blackpress.ca

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