alt Hacker NewsWhy now? From the Govt of BC press release: "The Interpretation Amendment Act, which is the legal framework that enables the Province to adopt permanent DST, became law in 2019. At the time, government chose not to bring it into force in order to co-ordinate timing with neighbouring U.S. states in the same time zone.
Recent actions from the U.S. have shifted how B.C. approaches decisions that merit alignment, including on time zones. Making this change now reflects the current preferences and needs of British Columbians, and helps ensure the province is well-positioned to thrive, even when circumstances across the border evolve."
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I don't have a source to site, but I'm fairly certain the Canadian government is adopting (and presumably encouraging provinces to adopt) a general policy of explicitly not allowing US preferences to dictate our domestic policy moving forward. Of course, that is indeed in response to recent actions from the U.S. And in that light, this time change was an obvious early move as the only thing preventing it was the trigger based on the US states.
Ha! I read the news and I was wondering if the scuffle with the US was the nudge to get this going, further differentiating the way of life.
My intuition was correct
pats own back
Notably Washington state legislated the same change to DST years ago (instead of standard time, the morons!) but the federal government never approved the switch. AFAIK it's still pending. I remain unclear what authority the federal government has over such a matter and why Washington (or any other) state has opted to respect it. What are they going to do if a state just ignores them and switches their clocks?
Sometimes I get the impression that the spirit of states rights in the US has died.