Image Credit: PEXELS

In winter, the time in Creston, B.C. is the same as Calgary, Alberta but in the summer the clocks are on Vancouver time.

Sigrid Hert, a hotelier and 17-year resident says it can make for interesting conversation.

"We tell (tourists) when they reserve what time zone they're going to be in that time of the year," Hert says. "It's not the biggest deal but it is confusing, especially for tourists."

Indeed it does sound confusing, but then again it’s not Crestonites who are running around changing their clocks twice a year. They, along with several other B.C. communities, have opted out of Daylight Saving Time and leaving the rest of us in the dark. But that may soon change.

Both the B.C. NDP and the B.C. Liberals said this week a growing chorus of British Columbians might be right in pushing to end ‘fall back’ and ‘spring forward’. B.C. Premier John Horgan hinted this week we could see changes soon.

“We have known for some time that British Columbians are very passionate on this topic,” he said in a statement to iNFOnews.ca. "Three of our closest neighbours – Washington, Oregon and California – are considering moving away from Daylight Saving time. There are still a number of steps before a change might happen there, but it’s important to look at what that could mean for B.C. I’m interested in hearing from British Columbians on this issue and we’ll have more to say in the months ahead.”

Linda Larson, B.C. Liberal MLA for Boundary-Similkameen, was two years ahead of Larson on this file and says in that time, only one person was reached her supporting Daylight Saving Time.

"I hope that all the states... switch to staying on Daylight Saving time as the new norm for the Pacific time, and that we will just go along with that,” she says.

It’s an idea gaining ground on social media as well. Bob Dieno from Kamloops has more than 4,100 members on a Facebook page opposing the yearly event.

"Obviously it's very good news to us we've been pushing for this for years," Dieno says in a phone interview, "But we would love to see B.C. be a leader instead of a follower."

Susan Hilton from Pritchard, B.C. agrees. She has another Facebook group with 530 members since Feb. 7, 2019.

"Do you know anybody who really likes time change?" Hilton says in a phone interview. "So if nobody likes it why are we doing it?"

ICBC has said the two weeks following the end of Daylight Saving Time in spring results in a spike in traffic accidents — as high as 16 per cent.

Besides the accidents, confusion, fatigue and potential health effects, the movement to end DST one and for all seemed to pick up with John Oliver from This Week Tonight, in which he asks: Why is this still a thing?

Remember to change your clocks forward one hour on March 10, unless you're in Creston, Chetwynd, Dawson Creek, Hudson's Hope, Fort St. John, Taylor or Tumbler Ridge.

—This story was corrected for spelling on March 10, 2019 at 9:09 a.m.

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