Quebec promises to get rid of time changes next year | Hanomansing Live

First, it was Western Canada. Now, Quebecers might be turning back their clocks for the last time this coming weekend. The Parti Québécois has promised to abolish the time change starting next year. Sharon Yonan-Reddelt has that story. The newly elected provincial government says that this fall, Quebecers could be turning their clocks back for the last time. Rest in peace, time change. Probably. It should be the last time. We will consult the expert and we'll prepare our work plan. You know, changing in March, changing again, it's like, it's crazy with kids. We need to make a call one way or the other. It would end a practice that's been in place in Quebec since the Second World War. Quebec Premier Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon says the government will consult with specialists and figure out whether to stick with standard time, which offers more light in the mornings, or permanent daylight time, which offers more light in the evening. Sleep experts say that when it comes to health, standard time definitely has the edge. If we stick to permanent standard time, then we're essentially keeping up with the natural cycle of the sun for which our biology has evolved across history to be able to function optimally during the day and to get the optimal sleep during the night. But if permanent standard time is better for us, why are provinces like British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba choosing to stay on permanent daylight time? In B.C., for example, 93% of respondents in a 2019 public survey supported year-round daylight time. Studies have also suggested that permanent daylight time is better for businesses, with consumers more inclined to go out and spend money if there's more daylight after they leave work. After school, after work, we like to take walks, we like to do things because that's when we have more time. So, you know, we prefer to have more daylight. I think it's more fun to have more sun at the end of the day. I don't know, you can stay more outside. The Quebec government says it plans to hold parliamentary commissions in the coming months, but a decision will have to be made soon so that the government doesn't have to restart the clock on a decades-long debate. Okay, so no one has been following this. Time changes closer than my next guest, Patricia Lakin-Thomas, who is a professor of biology at York University, also an expert of circadian rhythms and biological clocks. And we have spoken to Patricia in the past as we were watching this sort of this new story unfold throughout the western provinces. Patricia, welcome back to talk about Quebec and this development. They are going to change. We should be clear. They are going to be changing their clocks over the weekend. What do you make of the idea that it could be the last time that Quebec would then remain on standard time for the future? Well, that would really be excellent news if they change the clocks back and then stay there. Because when we change the clocks in the fall, we're going back to standard time, which is the time that is closer to what we might think of as natural time. And that means getting up around sunrise because we need the morning light to reset our biological clock to keep us in step with the day-night cycle. when we get the light in the late afternoon and early evening it goes the wrong direction and it pushes our clocks too late so we want to stay up late but then we have to wake up in the morning with an alarm and we end up sleep deprived and we end up with our bodies not prepared for the day and giving ourselves stress every day from that mismatch between what our bodies are prepared for and what we're forcing ourselves to do because of our social schedule. So it would be wonderful if Quebec talks to the experts. And I know that the scientific consensus across Canada and across North America and across Europe from all scientific societies who study this is that year-round standard time is what we should do for our health. Patricia, what has it been like for you in your position, someone who has studied this and has, you know, strong feelings about standard time being the way to go here and of course you as i pointed out you've watched uh the western provinces all do the opposite and almost maybe more to the point this has not happened as a national plan this is happening very much as puzzle pieces that maybe do or don't fit together depending on on your view of it uh you know what's going through your mind as you see all these provinces coming out with their own ideas well i can't keep track of it either it's a mess good and these are times when we're talking about Canadian unity and we should be getting a nationwide plan so that, like Quebec, we get the politicians in the room together with the experts and with members of the public and civil society to come up with a nationwide plan. I think the Western premiers have changed because they think it's a feel-good factor that's going to make them popular because people do think it's a great idea when you ask them, would you like more light in the afternoon in the winter they say well that sounds good but once they've been through a winter and we know from history when other jurisdictions have tried it once people have been through a winter or two of daylight saving time they just hate it and the public opinion polls are going to go against the politicians so we're hoping we can get some sort of a conference in the spring when people have had an experience of a winter and get the experts to talk to the politicians and get people from the public to talk to the politicians about what it feels like getting up on those dark mornings and maybe we can get a nationwide strategy to stay on standard time year-round what issues do you uh maybe foresee and again it wouldn't happen until the the spring because for now what we will have is ontario and quebec still uh in the same time zone but in the uh event that ontario does not move with quebec and there is this this uh time change between say ottawa and gatineau i mean what do you foresee as issues that those residents in those two communities might deal with um we already deal with jurisdictions to the east and west of us who are in different time zones and i don't see that there's a problem we know we can do business with the Maritimes because even though they're on a different time zone we can do business with with BC we can communicate with them it's not a problem what businesses don't like is uncertainty and confusion and if you know that this is what the time zones are businesses can adapt to that they can adapt their uh supply chains and and their stock markets to to deal with the time differences so i don't think that there's a strong business case at all for everybody being in the same time zone. As long as businesses know what it's going to be and can predict it, they can adapt to that. Patricia Lake and Thomas, good to speak with you again. And as this continues, I'm sure we're going to talk one more time at least. Thank you. Nice to talk to you.