Manitobans are preparing for dark winter mornings and brighter evenings this winter following Premier Wab Kinew’s announcement that the province will stay in permanent Daylight Saving Time.
Kinew made the announcement while speaking to 680 CJOB Thursday. The move means Manitoban clocks will not fall back in November, as the province permanently remains in its spring and summer time zone.
This will result in later sunrises and sunsets this winter. The decision to stick with Daylight Saving Time, and not permanent Standard Time, was made based on the results of a survey that found respondents preferred the summer time option over Standard Time.
“I think it’s a positive thing,” Scott McFayden, executive director at the Anxiety Disorders Association of Manitoba (ADAM), told Global News in an interview.
Committing to Daylight Standard Time will lead to fewer disruptions and more access to sunlight for people in the north, he said.
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In Thompson, the sun will rise at 10:05 a.m. and set at 4:57 p.m. on the shortest day of the year, according to a Manitoba government report on the health implications of time policy.
“Access to sunlight, we know, has a positive benefit on mental health,” McFayden said.
“We live in a northern climate, there’s more instances of seasonal affective disorder with shorter (versus) longer days, and so, there is a connection between climate, access to sunlight and our mental health.”
Later sunsets may also help Manitobans get some sun in winter, he continued.
“If you walk out the door (after work) and there’s a little bit of sunlight, maybe you’ll actually go out and do something. It might be more difficult for people who start work really early in the morning. It will be dark an extra hour in the morning, but I think we’ll all adjust,” McFayden said.
Stopping the time change will also be beneficial for sleep, according to McFayden, who noted that regular, healthy sleep habits can help prevent anxiety from manifesting for some people.
The St. James-Assiniboia School Division (SJASD) said it is in the early stages of determining how the switch to Daylight Saving Time will impact school day routines, Jaime Siska, assistant superintendent of educational planning and policy for SJASD, told Global News in an email statement.
The sun is expected to rise at 9:24 a.m. in Winnipeg on the shortest day of the year in December, according to the Manitoba government.
Schools in the division start between 8:20 a.m. and 9 a.m., Siska said.
This means “most schools in the SJASD will start prior to dawn on this date.”
Division staff is in the process of ensuring students will arrive at well-lit schools as mornings become darker this winter. Staff is also ensuring that community bus stops and areas surrounding schools have enough street lighting to ensure students are safe, the statement added.
“(We are) exploring best practices in safety measures to support students and caregivers as they prepare for this change,” Siska said.
“We expect supervising staff to be especially vigilant at drop-offs, bus loading areas, and street crossings during the first week of permanent DST (Daylight Saving Time), and anticipate using our communication channels to reinforce important safety messaging to caregivers and students in the lead-up to and following this change.”
Siska said the school division will work to ensure “students continue to arrive safely to school each day regardless of the natural lighting conditions.”
In ending the time change, Manitoba is joining the likes of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
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