A private members bill was passed last week that will bring an end to daylight saving time in Ontario.
Bill 214 – the Time Amendment Act was tabled by Ottawa West-Nepean MPP Jeremy Roberts in October and received unanimous support last week. The next step is for it to get Royal Assent from the Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell.
MPP for Parry Sound-Muskoka Norm Miller tells the MyMuskokaNow.com newsroom he supports the bill. “They made all kinds of points about studies on how the time change negatively affects people,” he says on the debate leading up to the vote. “It would be simpler to just have the same time all the time.”
“It means we have more afternoon and evening sunlight,” Miller explains. “Just last week it was 3:30 in the afternoon and I thought ‘boy, it’s getting dark already.’ It would be nice if we had at least another hour of daylight this time of year.”
“We are in the minority,” Miller says on daylight saving time, noting 79-percent of the world does not use it. He also points out the studies that have been done that show the twice a year time change is harmful to people’s mental health.
In Canada, the Yukon, most of Saskatchewan, some parts of Quebec and British Columbia have one standard time used year-round.
The bill will only come into effect if Quebec and New York State enact similar legislation.