Good morning. Happy Monday. Are you and your family feeling well rested after March break?

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There with you then. Here with you now. As a critical part of the community for over 245 years,The Gazette continues to deliver trusted English-language news and coverage on issues that matter. Subscribe now to receive:

Unlimited online access to our award-winning journalism including thought-provoking columns by Allison Hanes, Josh Freed and Bill Brownstein.

Opportunity to engage with our commenting community and learn from fellow readers in a moderated forum.

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.

Montreal Gazette ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, where you can share and comment..

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Yawn. … Mine neither. But it’s not due to a lack of relaxation during our week off.

Hanes: Changing the clocks is a tired and antiquated ritual Back to video

Daylight time has struck again. The annual torture of moving the clocks ahead by an hour occurred in the wee hours of Sunday — right at the tail end of Quebec’s spring break.

The unfortunate alignment of these two events happens every year. Quebec has its school holiday the first week of March and daylight time begins at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March.

And so, rather than returning refreshed, students, teachers and parents — never mind those who didn’t get a chance to recharge their batteries last week — will be bearing the brunt of this time robbery.

More than just making us grumpy at having to wake up in the dark again, this tinkering with our bodies’ circadian rhythms does very real physical and psychological harm. It is documented that the week after moving the clocks contributes to a rise in heart attacks, strokes and weight gain. It can also lead to an increase in vehicle crashes and workplace accidents.

The toll on mental health is also alarming. The time shift is associated with worsening depression and sleep disorders.

Even in the fall, when we turn the clocks back, we don’t always get that promised extra hour of sleep. There is still a bleary-eyed period of adjustment.

Trying to get the recommended amount of shut-eye is hard enough for the busy modern family without deliberately and cruelly taking an hour away. As we up our intake of caffeinated beverages to compensate, it seems most of us can agree that this tired and outdated ritual causes needless pain.

But rather than just grumbling, can we all finally get behind the idea of doing away with it for good?

Hanes: Changing the clocks has become an outdated ordeal

Hanes: Another bleary-eyed morning after time change

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There has been momentum in recent years toward abolishing the twice-yearly time change.

British Columbia’s move to permanent daylight time has reignited conversations across the country. Last week, B.C. Premier David Eby announced that most of the province will change its clocks for the last time this month.

Ontario, meanwhile, tried to get the ball rolling in 2020 with a private member’s bill — on the condition that Quebec and New York state join.

There was some movement when the Quebec government announced in 2024 it was conducting an online poll to gauge public opinion on the issue. The results showed that 91 per cent of the 214,000 respondents supported ditching the switch. But nothing has happened since.

The vast majority — 72 per cent — said they would rather remain on daylight time all year. This would mean the sun would rise at 4:51 a.m. and set at 8:43 p.m. on the longest day of the year. But the sun would only come up at 8:27 a.m. and set at 4:59 p.m. on the shortest day, according to the government survey.

Fewer Quebecers polled were in favour of staying on standard time. In this scenario, the sun would rise at 3:51 a.m. and set at 7:43 p.m. on the summer solstice, but appear at 7:27 a.m. and sink over the horizon at 3:59 p.m. on the winter solstice.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages depending on the season, your job or your daily routine.

Alas, we might not end up having much choice in the matter.

In the U.S., former senator turned Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been spearheading the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight time permanent. The endeavour repeatedly stalled, though Florida Senator Rick Scott renewed efforts this month to revive the issue.

Besides, while U.S. President Donald Trump seems in favour of changing the clocks, he has waffled on whether he prefers standard or daylight time.

If our neighbours to the south put an end to the time change, it’s likely Canada would want to stay in sync for practical and economic reasons (although given recent upheaval in cross-border relations, the desire to stay in lockstep is perhaps not the obvious choice it once was).

At this point, the important thing is putting a disruptive and draining practice behind us one way or another.

The problem is everyone seems to be waiting for someone else to take the plunge. This has resulted in a dreadful state of inertia to rival the depleted energy levels many of us are experiencing this week.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Quebec was a latecomer to daylight time, adopting it in 1940, decades after Ontario. Saskatchewan doesn’t subscribe to changing the clocks. And Yukon instituted Yukon Standard Time in 2020.

As we brew extra coffee, dare we hope this will be the last time changing the time messes with our internal clocks?

© Montreal Gazette