Alberta Standard Time a recipe for unnecessary confusion

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 7, 2017.

Public hearings into whether Alberta should scrap Daylight Saving Time are scheduled, meaning that Albertans may actually have to discuss this ill-conceived idea.

A subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Alberta’s Economic Future will visit four cities this month to discuss MLA Thomas Dang’s idea to create “Alberta Standard Time.”

Critics of the private member’s bill may seize on the apparent lack of priorities of the Alberta government.

But, it’s too much to say that government cannot walk and chew gum at the same time.

There’s no reason to think important work won’t continue, just as police officers can still write jaywalking tickets while a murder investigation is unsolved.

On its merits alone, the current exploration of daylight saving delves deep into the territory of pet peeve-ishness.

It’s accepted that new parents, animal owners and others do not like adjusting schedules twice each year. Internal and external clocks take time to link up and a few days of tiredness usually result.

However, the scheme to adjust clocks does provide benefits, mainly giving the most hours of daylight during the hours that people are typically awake.

Beyond this, it is frankly just easier to accept the current system and move on, rather than debate something for the sake of change.

In days of yore (1972) Alberta brought in Daylight Saving, matching Manitoba, and B.C., while Saskatchewan did not.

The result is that province to the east of us spends half the year lined up with Alberta’s Mountain Time Zone and the other half with Manitoba’s Central Zone.

By doing nothing, Saskatchewan is arguably affected the most of the three. Somehow, our neighbours continue to arrive at work, go to sleep, make appointments and happily go about their daily lives.

Albertans similarly have the capacity to realize on two Sundays each year that something is amiss, adjust, then forget about it for another six months.

This is not to downplay the concerns of cranky babies or cranky adults.

The point, however, is that since time zones exist only in relation to other time zones, Alberta would be foolish to nix the practice until others do so as well.

This is similar to driving on the left side of the road. It is every bit as efficient as the right side, but only if everyone is doing it, and not so much when you go it alone.

For example, in 2007, the U.S. unilaterally extended the period of daylight saving by four weeks, moving “fall back” to early November and “spring ahead” to March. There was a feign of protest, but Canada followed suit.

To buck the system now would put Alberta on Central Time in the winter — a full two hours ahead of British Columbia for half the year.

Beyond the confusion for travellers, transport companies and airlines — which would certainly lessen over time — the scheduling nightmare would still exist.

Not to be forgotten is that our main U.S. television feeds emanate from the state of Washington.

The NBC nightly news at 6 p.m., would be shown here at 8 p.m., the Tonight Show, an 11:30 p.m staple across the continent, would be shown at 1:30 a.m. The puck drop on West Coast NHL games will occur at 9 or 10 p.m. for Alberta viewers.

We’ll admit here that times change. Broadcast television is increasingly being taped or watched on demand.

Dairy cows are typically tended by machinery, thereby nixing a strong nay argument from 1972.

They may be trivial matters now, but we challenge Dang, the committee or any Albertan to find a benefit of more gravity in this proposal to have Alberta not change its clocks twice a year.

(Collin Gallant is a News reporter. To comment on this and other editorials, go to https://www.medicinehatnews.com/opinions.)