11 August 2005

Leaders try to get in sync on daylight

The following article is excerpted from the 11 August 2005 edition of the “Toronto Star”.

Canada's provincial and territorial leaders appear willing to move toward extending daylight saving time to stay in sync with the United States….

Premier Dalton McGuinty said the issue, which is not part of the formal agenda at their annual conference, came up "just in passing, very briefly" as the leaders chugged into Kananaskis yesterday for a rodeo.

"It's a provincial issue. It'll be up to individual provinces to make the call," he told reporters.

McGuinty has assigned Attorney General Michael Bryant to study what legislative changes are needed in Ontario and what the effects of extending daylight saving time would be if the provinces follow the American lead.

"We are so inextricably linked to the U.S. now by way of trade, it would be a real challenge ... to operate on separate times," he said Tuesday in Calgary.

Manitoba Premier Gary Doer has been leading the push to match changes south of the border, which take effect in 2007.

Under new measures approved by Congress, daylight saving time in the U.S. will begin three weeks earlier than the current first Sunday of April and end one week later than the current last week of October.

"We actually studied this issue three months ago because the pending energy bill was before the Congress and Senate," said Doer.

"For Manitoba transportation companies it makes good sense. For the operation of the border it makes good sense and we even found an added benefit of an extra hour of daylight at Halloween time, where we have more accidents regrettably with kids during that time," he said….

British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell echoed that sentiment.

"It's pretty important to be in sync with the United States in terms of our trade and in terms of social activity.

`I wouldn't be surprised to see all of Canada move" to a daylight time extension, the B.C. premier said….