We have to turn our clocks back again because of US politics

Canada continues to be led around by U.S. apron strings when it comes to locking in Daylight Saving Time.

Back in 2019, BC passed a law that would end the practice of changing clocks twice a year but contingent on the U.S. government also following through.

The European Union, in the same year, agreed to stop changing clocks but it was contingent on member states agreeing on winter or summer time.

That was not accomplished by the 2021 deadline and there has been little movement on the issue since.

A number of U.S. states have passed measures to stick with Daylight Saving Time but are forbidden by federal law from going to permanent Daylight Saving Time, although they could – and some do – stick to Standard Time.

READ MORE: Want to stop moving clocks back? Get behind Standard Time

Things looked pretty good last year when a special Senate measure approved the Sunshine Protection Act to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. Called a unanimous consent process, the Act passed because no one objected to it.

That put the ball squarely in the court of the House of Representatives which dithered and never passed it.

It seems like the Senate will have to pass another version of the bill for it to move forward but, with the dysfunction in the House of Representatives, that’s not going to happen this fall.

“There are no signs the Sunshine Protection Act will be passed by the U.S. Congress in 2023,” The Sleep Foundation website said in an Oct. 2, 2023 article. “The bill does not appear to have enough support to get through committees or to win a majority vote in either the House or Senate.”

That article came out the day before House of Representative Speaker Kevin McCarthy got voted out of office, triggering three weeks of a House shutdown as the Republicans fought amongst themselves over who the new speaker would be.

That was finally resolved last week and the House quickly moved to approve support for Israel.

But, still to come, is the next step in the ongoing debt ceiling debate that not only leads to repeated threats to shut down the government but the latest deal, in September, led to McCarthy’s removal.

The new deadline for reaching a deal is Nov. 17. Given the importance of that issue as well as everything else the House has not been dealing with for the past three weeks, bringing the Sunshine Protection Act forward in time to avoid the Nov. 5 change is just not going to happen.

READ MORE: Golfing in the evening inspiration for Daylight Savings Time

Besides, there is still strong disagreement over whether it would be better to stick to Standard or Daylight Time.

This all means clocks in most of BC will “fall back” by one hour as of 2 a.m. on Nov. 5 and “spring forward” again at 3 a.m. on March 10, 2024.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submitphotos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.