As a transplanted Saskatchewanian – now with a Manitoba tenure longer than my time in the ‘old country’ – I’ve adapted. I even cheer for the Bombers now, rather than the Riders.
But there’s one difference I’ve never embraced.
That’s the spring-forward, fall-back nonsense that is the twice-annual time change.
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I’ve always agreed with the assessment that it’s like cutting six inches off one end of the blanket, sewing it onto the other end, then proudly crowing that you’ve got a longer blanket – or a longer day.
Since the laws of physics haven’t been repealed, both claims are nonsense. There are only so many threads in that blanket and hours of daylight in a given day.
Thankfully, a recent bill tabled in Manitoba could do away with the time change, should certain conditions be met.
With family still in Saskatchewan, I’ve always looked longingly across the border twice a year, as they continue to live their lives without time-related interruption, while I spend two weeks trying to adjust my internal clock.
For this continuing madness, we have two men to thank. The first to propose the idea was Benjamin Franklin in a *satirical* letter to a French publication in 1784, claiming it would reduce the use of candles. Worth noting is that Franklin thought the whole thing was nonsense and would never be adopted.
The second – and the source credited by most historians as the father of Daylight Saving Time – was New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, who proposed shifting clocks two hours at an 1895 meeting of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Members promptly rejected the proposal as “…confusing and unnecessary.”
Hudson’s publicly stated reason for proposing the change was that it would leave more time for leisure. And in his case, what he really wanted, according to National Geographic, was more time after work hours to observe his beloved insects.
As someone who spent more time than I care to admit watching bumblebees in my yard this summer, I won’t second-guess Hudson’s choice of avocation. But I do wonder if it’s something over which to rearrange the world’s time keeping.
Canada’s own role in this ongoing madness can’t be ignored either.
In 1908, Port Arthur, Ont., (now part of Thunder Bay) was the first city to enact DST. Orillia became the second community in 1911. Here in Manitoba, Brandon and Winnipeg began observing DST in 1916.
In the latter part of the First World War, the entire country went on DST in an effort to reduce energy use and boost productivity. It was abolished following the war, only to be picked up again during the Second World War for similar reasons. But then it was observed year-round.
Following the war, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia, it was a real grab bag of time standards, with municipalities forced into regulating it “…to reduce the confusion present when different businesses on the same street used different times.”
Eventually the provinces stepped in. Manitoba has observed DST since the end of the Second World War, with the curious exception of four years (1961, 1962 and then 1964 and 1965) in the first half of the 1960s.
Next door in Saskatchewan, things proceeded differently. Per the Wikipedia page “Time in Saskatchewan” – and the fact that the subject needs its own Wikipedia page speaks volumes – the province has observed Central Standard Time year-round since the mid-1960s.
However, to add another layer of confusion, the province is actually in the Mountain time zone, meaning it’s technically on DST all the time. The border city of Lloydminster follows Alberta time, and Creighton, adjacent to Flin Flon, is said to ‘informally’ follow Manitoba time.
The bottom line is that Saskatchewan, a large province with a successful economy, hasn’t been held back by its decision to march to the beat of its own timekeeping.
So perhaps the real question isn’t “why is Manitoba jumping on the abolish DST bandwagon?” but rather “why is it being so half-hearted about it?”
The tabled legislation has a number of large caveats that will likely prevent it from becoming the law of the province any time soon.
The largest hurdle is that the bill, introduced by Manitoba Municipal Relations Minister Eileen Clark, is dependent on the U.S. taking its own decision to ditch DST. A bill to adopt the change was passed unanimously in the U.S. Senate in March but has stalled in the House of Representatives.
Then there’s the promised consultations with Manitobans on the topic, which is guaranteed to be controversial.
It’s often been said that DST is something we do “for the farmers.” Maybe that was the case before farm equipment had headlights and barns had electricity.
How does it affect your business today? We’d love to hear about it.
