Spring forward on Sunday? Try 'winter forward'

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Spring forward on Sunday? Try 'winter forward'
Last Updated: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 | 7:03 AM ET
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/03/05/daylight-time.html

As of this weekend, Canadians resetting their clocks will have to remember a new saying: "Winter forward, fall back."

Canadians won't be "springing forward" in the spring anymore, because provincial and territorial governments have opted to go along with the United States in 2007, starting daylight time three weeks earlier than previously.

For the parts of Canada that observe daylight time, clocks have traditionally gone forward one hour in early April, just after the start of spring.

In 2007, the change will occur in the early hours of Sunday, March 11 ― still in the dying days of winter.

Each observing province officially changes its clocks at 2 a.m., except for Newfoundland and Labrador, which moves ahead at one minute past midnight local time.
Intended as energy-saving measure

The change was made south of the border under the American Energy Policy Act, first signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2005.


Among other things, the act provides tax credits for Americans who purchase fuel-efficient cars and energy-saving appliances.

The part of the act that affects Canadians is the legislated change in daylight time, a move meant to save energy on the assumption that people won't use their lights as much if the sky doesn't darken until later in the day.

Since time management falls within provincial jurisdiction, each Canadian province and territory made its own decision whether to go along with the U.S. change.

Saskatchewan does not change its clocks seasonally; nor do some parts of B.C., Nunavut, Ontario and Quebec.
'Smart move for businesses'

Whether the change will result in energy savings is still being debated, but that's not why Canada is changing daylight time at the same time as the U.S.

"It's a smart move for businesses like tourism, travel and telecommunications, and means we will be in sync with much of the country and our biggest trade partner ― the United States," B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal said in a news release as he announced his province would observe the altered time-change schedule.

Provincial and territorial officials across the country generally agreed that being out of sync with the U.S. could be disastrous.

"Not changing would likely result in difficulties for our agricultural and fisheries producers, causing transportation, shipping and border difficulties," Ontario Justice Minister Murray Scott said.
 
Y2K revisited?

The time change has given rise to concerns of computer chaos. Most computer systems have internal clocks that automatically adjust for daylight time. As of 2007, they'll be doing it on the wrong date.

Some computer experts have flagged the problem as a "mini-Y2K," a reference to late-20th-century fears that chaos would strike computer-dependent systems worldwide as Dec. 31, 1999, clicked over to Jan. 1, 2000.

It was widely believed computers systems would not be able to differentiate between 2000 and 1900, a design flaw that could trigger catastrophic large-scale computer failures.

Partly as a result of months of advance warning that let computer specialists adjust their systems, few such failures were reported on New Year's Day of the year 2000.

The time change on March 11, 2007, could cause smaller headaches for those relying on electronic organizers or computer calendars, most of which are programmed for the old daylight time.

To prevent such problems, most computer manufacturers have produced software patches to fix the problem and they are easily accessible online.
May not be a permanent change

The time change gives Canadians about a month of extra daylight time in 2007. The "spring forward" occurs on March 11, three weeks earlier than usual, while the "fall back" is on Nov. 4, one week later than usual.

The extended daylight time may not be permanent.

The U.S. Congress retains the right to revert to the original clock-changing schedule if no great energy savings result or if the change proves unpopular with the American public.

So next year, Canadians may be springing ahead in the spring once more.
 
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