No 'Falling Back' for BC This Year
Province debuts a new time zone code this autumn
The province of British Columbia eliminated the twice-yearly time changes that have been in place since the 1930's last March, and just this month have announced a new abbreviation for the new time zone.
According to a press release from the province, Pacific Time will now be known as PCT in operational and communications systems. This replaces the former PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) and PST (Pacific Standard Time) designations, and aligns with Canadian and international time zone naming conventions
"Establishing PCT as the abbreviation for Pacific Time in advance of the usually anticipated time change in November 2026 provides clarity and consistency for businesses, organizations and people referencing it in communications, operational systems and public-facing materials," last week's announcement read.
The decision to eliminate the twice-yearly changes came after consultation with residents across the province in the summer of 2019. Of the more than 223,000 people, polled, 93 percent supported adopting year-round Daylight Saving Time.
“Improved overall health, reduced disruptions for families, simplified scheduling and an extra hour of evening light during the winter months are clear benefits of a year-round time zone,” said Minister of Citizens’ Services Diana Gibson,
Government sources cite multiple benefits from switching to PCT. These include:
more consistency and fewer disruptions to sleep patterns and daily routines
more usable light in the evenings in winter, allowing more leisure time, participation in outdoor activities and consumer activity
reduced administrative burden for small businesses and service providers who may require less system reprogramming, scheduling shifts and operational resets every spring and fall
more consistency for planning across transportation and technology services
The existing Mountain Time arrangements in parts of northern and southeastern B.C. are not affected by the change to PCT.
More information about the change to PCT can be found HERE.
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This decision was made by consulting citizens rather than the medical profession.
The latter had stated that staying on Standard Time year round would be better for our health as it more closely aligned with our circadian rhythms than would be the case with Daylight Savings Time.
At least the libertarians will be happy when it is pitch black at 9:00 a.m. in the middle of December.