Interpretation Amendment Act
In a public engagement this summer, more than 93% of a record 223,000 respondents said they wanted to remain on year-round daylight saving time (DST). That’s why government has taken action and introduced the Interpretation Amendment Act, paving the way for a move to year-round DST. This bill creates a new name for our permanent time zone – “Pacific Time” – and removes legislation that permits the bi-annual time change. It does not require areas of the North and the Kootenays that currently observe Mountain Time to change their time observance practices. A majority of respondents to the public engagement also indicated a desire to maintain alignment with our neighbours in Washington, Oregon, California and Yukon. The move to permanent DST is planned to be brought into effect at a time that maintains alignment with our neighbours. However, it does not prevent government from moving independently if the time comes that such a move is deemed in the best interest of our province.