To the Editor:
(Re: “Council Comment: Creston Valley should consider adopting daylight time” by Coun. Judy Gadicke)
If you had done your homework, you would have found out that democracy has absolutely nothing to do with time zones. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) established mountain standard time from Saskatchewan to Kootenay Landing in 1897 — MST for 115 years. Train scheduling cost a lot of money, and secondary safety was the issue.
You would also have found out the Great Northern Railway set the West Kootenay time zone, Pacific standard time, in 1891. The poor people in the west are shackled with the worst time possible in the winter; the MST zone should extend as far as Midway.
During the war, when two-hour daylight time was in place, the CPR didn’t change. Also, in the 1950s, the CPR still had a major influence in this area.
Now hospital savings is an urban legend that continuously surfaces. Hospitals work 24/7/365 and have a lot of shifts. If high costs do exist, that’s the administration’s fault.
The time confusion rests with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. It placed the wrong sign at Tochty (20 km east of Yahk). I guess there was no research by the highways department, but it’s cheaper than two signs.
VCRs and satellite dishes are easy to set to mountain time and they will stay that way.
As I read your column, every point you made is asking for daylight time in the winter, although the people that work 8-5 would suffer. But you are right: Anything that distances us from Nelson is a plus.
Don Stace-Smith
Erickson
