Northerners dread losing an hour of sleep, perhaps for the last time

The time of year is upon us when people may welcome the extra hour of daylight or dread losing an hour of sleep, but legislation in the United States that could put an end to the seasonal time change is also moving ahead.

• Daylight time: When do we set the clocks forward this year?
• Tips to deal with the time change

The Ontario government passed legislation in 2020 to make daylight savings time permanent in the province. However, the legislation will only come into effect if Québec and New York State do the same thing.

Québec Premier Francois Legault has said he is open to making daylight time permanent.

Now a U.S. bill to authorize the change that has been repeatedly thwarted is back in play.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio last week reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act that would allow states to make daylight time permanent.

Rubio said in a statement that the "ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid," and that ending the practice has bipartisan support.

If passed, the law would have knock-on for Ontario which have been waiting on neighbouring U.S. states to ditch the time change before they do so too.

The U.S. bill, first proposed in 2018, has repeatedly failed to get through both chambers of Congress, and last March it stalled in the House without a vote.

If the federal bill gets through, that would allow U.S. states to enact their own changes, including those cited by Canadian provinces. More than a dozen U.S. states have passed legislation that is waiting on the federal go-ahead.

Farmers historically protested the tradition to changing clocks twice a year.

While for most people, it’s just a matter of adjusting your body clock, for others the disruption can be serious.

Experts say interfering with people’s internal clocks comes with negative health affects like higher rates of heart attacks, stroke, weight gain, and anxiety — as well as contributing to car accidents and workplace injuries.

Psychiatrist Dr. Raymond Lam said the constant clock change can be linked to depression because of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

“More people would have Seasonal Affective Disorder with permanent Daylight Saving Time and people with seasonal affective disorder would feel worse,” said Lam, a professor of psychiatry at the University of British Columbia.

Researchers suggest moving to a permanent standard time is actually much healthier for our bodies.

“Our biological clock gets misaligned with the sun clock and that’s because our sleep and social rhythms are controlled by the clock and are more synchronized with the sunrise,” said Lam.

For those who hadn’t prepared for the time change by sleeping at least a half-hour early, experts suggest making habits of healthy eating, exercise, and having a consistent sleep schedule to help you transition more smoothly to the change over the next two weeks, which experts say is the typical amount of time it takes people’s bodies to adjust.

• Download our app to get local alerts on your device
• Get the latest local updates right to your inbox

Most provinces, including Ontario, as well as the territories of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories will move their clocks ahead one hour early Sunday.

Yukon and most of Saskatchewan keep their clocks the same year-round. Yukon made the switch for the last time in March 2020, and standard time is now permanent there.

While people adjust their physical and internal clocks, the northern Ontario fire services suggest people add other tasks while they’re at it; checking the batteries in smoke detectors and testing their cabon monoxide alarm.

"One of the most important things we encourage people to do is change the batteries and test their smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm," Timmins-area firefighter John Mavrinac told CTV News, this time last year.

"Without a working smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm ... in the event of a fire, they won't wake you up."

With files from The Canadian Press, The Associated Press, CTV News Timmins video journalist Sergio Arangio and CTV News North Bay video journalist Eric Taschner.