Down a long, dimly lit hallway in the bowels of the BC Legislature sits a small room where little light penetrates. Riveted to the door at eye level is a rectangular metal sign with the words, Time Keeper, engraved on it.
Inside the office, which is in need of a paint job and is adorned with aging furniture, sits an elderly man, his now vintage desk neat and impeccably polished, on the wall behind him an impressive display of clocks showing the time in every major city in the world.
He’s a precise sort of man and he doesn’t much like change. That, actually, is an understatement. He hates change. Except one. He is head-over-heels enamoured with a change he instituted many years ago.
That’s the change to Daylight Saving Time.
He’s heard that plenty of people are not happy with it now, but he doesn’t care. It suits him. He has no children, no pets, no livestock, he rarely sleeps, and he’s not much of a fan of the outdoors. In fact, he rarely goes outside. So he, unlike thousands of others, is not bothered by the change. For him, it’s his one big accomplishment in an otherwise insignificant career. And he, alone, in a prudent move by government at the time, was made responsible for the change. It’s the law.
Now, despite the overwhelming refrain to get rid of Daylight Saving Time, his steadfast reply remains, “I won’t do it.”
***
All right, so the previous few paragraphs are simply a flight of fancy inspired by a chat with a friend. But really, why is it that a time change that appears to annoy and inconvenience so many is still in effect? Who’s in charge?
First and foremost, it disrupts the sleep of children, so disrupts the lives of parents. Who else has a more important task than parents and why would we want to make their generally unsupported work more difficult?
Related: Turn your clocks back – Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday
Daylight Saving Time began in the early 1900s with an eye to saving energy. Depending on what you read, it appears there’s no consensus on whether it’s worked. In Canada, the province of Saskatchewan, plus a couple of places in B.C., Ontario and Quebec already don’t change.
Clearly, the time is just right for citizens to rise up and make demands.
And, while we’re at it, how about we take charge and make Halloween the last Saturday of October? Imagine how happy that would make so many teachers and daycare operators.
Related: Should Halloween be permanently moved to a Saturday?
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