The province wants to know whether Albertans still want to roll back the clock for Daylight Saving Time..An online survey will be launched by the government to gather feedback..“We know people have strong opinions about changing their clocks twice a year, and we want to hear them. As more Canadian provinces and territories and some American states are having discussions about this, it’s important that we hear from Albertans,” said Nate Glubish, Service Alberta Minister in a statement..Albertans currently set their clocks forward one hour to observe DST from the second Sunday in March until the first Sunday of November..This puts the province in the same time zone as the Northwest Territories and Montana year-round..“The practice of changing our clocks twice a year is largely done only in western Europe and North America. Earlier this year, the EU voted to abolish seasonal time changes by 2021. In North America, we’re seeing provincial and state governments table and pass legislation to do the same. It’s time for Alberta to have a serious conversation about this,” Glubish said..The online survey will be open until Tuesday, Dec. 10. Albertans can visit alberta.ca/daylight-saving-time-engagement.aspx to share their opinions. It’s a yes/no question..The move comes only a matter of weeks after the government appeared to reject any notion of a change..“It works. I don’t see any reason to change it,” said Minister of Transportation Ric McIver, adding a desire for change wasn’t there..MLAs two years ago voted down a private member’s bill asking for DST to be stopped..B.C. is currently debating whether to cancel DST. Legislation has also passed in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington to move to summer hours permanently. However, U.S. federal approval is required to enact the change..Saskatchewan, Arizona and Hawaii do not change their clocks.
