Resolution to petition to end time change passed at UBCM

Sep 14, 2018 | 4:46 PM

KAMLOOPS — Two Kamloops residents have been fighting to end the time change in B.C., and today Tara Holmes and Bob Dieno are optimistic the province is one step closer to abandoning the practice. 

“Tara and I have been working on this for three, four years now,” Dieno said. “Any step we can take is a step forward.”

UBCM delegates voted 52 per cent in favour of passing a resolution to petition the provincial government to end Daylight Savings Time. 

“The fact it didn’t come from our local municipal government, this came from Hudson’s Hope who put this forward, and Northern B.C. supported it; It shows that this isn’t just Kamloops or the southern parts of B.C. that want it, this is all of B.C. that really wants to see this happen,” Dieno said. 

Dieno and Holmes are passionate advocated of ending the time change, and co-founders of the group STOP the Time Change. They say the risks of the time change far outweigh any benefits, especially when it comes to driver safety and health. 

“When we started hearing more reports about mental health, physical health, statistics in ICBC claims that rise, productivity in the workplace, workplace accidents, seniors, teachers, suddenly I realized that the time change is detrimental to health for sure,” Holmes said.

Holmes says she isn’t concerned about whether the province adopts Standard or Daylight Time, only that the time change ends. 

The movement has gained a significant following in B.C., with an online petition garnering more than 26,000 signatures so far. 

“We want our supporters to keep pushing because at some point, when Bob and I are like, ‘can we keep doing this?’ it’s our supporters that keep us going,” Holmes said. “So, going to our Stop the Time Change page on Facebook and continually asking MLAs. We want a provincial referendum on this, we feel that the people of B.C. should have a chance to speak on this matter.”