Ontario is one step closer to making daylight saving time permanent

Ontario could be one step closer to making daylight saving time permanent, thanks to monumental legislation that just passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

On Tuesday, the bill, titled the Sunshine Protection Act, officially passed in a 308 to 117 vote. The legislation was approved by representatives from both parties and would scrap the practice of Americans adjusting their clocks twice a year to effectively put the U.S. under "permanent standard time," which is observed between March and November. 

Florida Republican Senator Vern Buchanan, who introduced the bill, argued that the time changes disrupt schedules "for no good reason." Proponents of permanent standard time point to fewer disruptions in sleep patterns, school schedules, and daily routines, as well as more leisure time and participation in outdoor activities. 

On the other hand, critics argue that the implementation of permanent daylight saving time could result in darker winter mornings, creating potentially hazardous conditions for road users.

Along with numerous U.S. states, Ontario officials have also expressed their desire to get rid of the practice here, although Premier Doug Ford has stressed that any legislative changes would depend on New York State, which would also have to end its twice-a-year time change.

Now that the U.S. House has passed the legislation, the bill is headed to the Senate, although its future remains uncertain. If New York were to adopt the legislative changes, Ontario could potentially move forward with abolishing the practice, as Bill 214, which was passed by the Ontario Legislature in 2020, maintains that the province will eliminate the ritual if New York and Quebec do the same. 

This isn't the first time the U.S. has moved to make daylight saving time permanent. In 1973, Congress briefly adopted permanent daylight saving time, but quickly backtracked due to public backlash. 

"Permanent daylight savings time was repealed within a year because it didn't work," Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon said during the Rules Committee meeting this week. "We all enjoy the extra hour or so of sunlight in the summer, but when people are considering this, they need to consider the extra hours of darkness in the winter." 

Earlier this year, British Columbia also announced that it was adopting year-round daylight saving time in an effort to improve people's overall health and provide an extra hour of light during the winter months. 

In Canada, B.C. joins Yukon, which scrapped the practice in March 2020, as well as the majority of Saskatchewan, which keeps its clocks the same throughout the year.