End the Biannual Time Change in Ontario

This is a campaign to end the biannual time change in Ontario in favour of either adopting permanent Eastern Standard Time (winter time) or permanent Atlantic Standard Time (summer time). In the past 10 years much research has been done that shows how negatively changing the time in Ontario effects individuals and society.

I’m one of those lucky people to have lived in and traveled a variety of places in the world throughout my life. Before settling down again in Ottawa I lived in Queensland, Australia and Saskatchewan, Canada. One thing that was noticeable in both these regions was there was no observation of a biannual time change. Sure, the extra sleep (which, by the way, doesn’t happen with a toddler) was nice in the fall, but I sure didn’t miss losing out on sleep in the spring.

By the time I had moved back to Ottawa I had lived in regions that didn’t follow a biannual time change for four years. During the time that I was away Daylight Saving Time had been extended to end after Hallowe’en (brought to you by the candy manufacturers) – and I noticed the difference in the fall time change. I was feeling down and depressed (it turns out now that I experience SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is a depression caused by a vitamin D deficiency during the winter as a direct result of less sunlight). Every year news articles would come out about how the spring time change causes an increase in heart attacks and car accidents, so I began wondering if the biannual time change affects us in any other way.

I started doing research and found so much information on just how much those time changes affect us, apart from the heart attacks and car accidents. Both the spring and fall time changes have negative consequences on our mental health - especially for those that suffer from sleep disorders and are night owls.

The main reason that Daylight Saving Time was adopted in the first place was to save energy. More recent reports have expressed that the energy savings from Daylight Saving Time are negligible, at best, and some regions actually experience a loss in energy savings. (You can find more in-depth information in my various blog posts and YouTube videos).

After doing a lot of research I came to the conclusion that there are many more negative consequences in continuing to follow the biannual time change. There are positives and negatives to observing permanent sumer time (Atlantic Standard Time) and permanent winter time (Eastern Standard Time).

The ultimate goal is to have Ontario amend the Time Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter T.9, to observing either permanent Atlantic Standard Time or Eastern Standard Time.

You can help by writing letters to the NDP/Liberal/PC/Green candidates in your riding, as well as the leaders of those parties. You can find a customizable letter template that you can use in our FaceBook event.