On any given workday, Nathan Fehr calculates time zone differences without much of a thought. He works in sales remotely from his home in British Columbia for a biotech company headquartered in Boston, Mass., supporting customers across North America as part of a unit based in the United Kingdom.
At the moment, that means accounting for Pacific time, eastern time, British Summer Time and other time zones spanning North America.
“These things are just kind of second nature to me,” Fehr, 43, said from his home in Coquitlam, B.C.
Workers across B.C. who have colleagues or customers in other parts of Canada often organize their days around eastern time, given Ontario is the country’s major hub for business, finance and government.
But that second nature will soon have to change to avoid scheduling mistakes and missed connections. As of Nov. 1, B.C. will adopt a year-round time zone, ending the twice-annual ritual of changing clocks for summer and winter.
For thousands of people working out west for federal government departments, Crown corporations, airports and other agencies, it means changing their shift times entirely to stay in line with eastern time or with B.C.’s neighbours in Washington state.
“The challenge around this will be remembering what the time zones are for everyone now because, right now, it’s pretty ingrained in me,” said Fehr, who’s worked in North American sales for more than a decade.
“I’m going to be in the habit of probably just Googling it quickly before a meeting.”
Thousands of public sector workers must adjust: union
When B.C. permanently adopts a year-round time zone on Nov. 1, the province will be:
Two hours behind most of Ontario.One hour behind Alberta.On the same time as Yukon. One hour ahead of Washington state.Two hours ahead of Alaska.
The union representing more than a quarter-million public sector employees in Canada said the new time structure affects thousands of workers in B.C., from border agents and call-takers to fisheries officers and park wardens.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) said more than 100 call-centre employees working for the Canada Revenue Agency will have to adjust their schedules to work until 6 p.m. instead of 5 p.m., equal to 8 p.m. ET.
An hour might not sound like much, a representative said, but the later schedule can throw a wrench in family scheduling that’s already adjusting to return-to-office mandates.
“It’s going to mean that folks are going to need to have child care for an hour later … elder care as well,” said Jamey Mills, the regional executive vice-president for PSAC.
“It’s just compounding on our members.”
Some border agents will also be bumping schedules because the Canada Border Services Agency adjusted its opening hours at nine land crossings to align with neighbouring U.S. ports of entry, which will be an hour out of time with B.C. as of next month.
Mills said fisheries officers, Parks Canada wardens and staff with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency will all be adjusting to commuting and working through darker mornings. Airport workers will likely face “confusion in the early days” of the change, he added.
Vancouver International Airport said in a statement that passengers should “be mindful that some destinations, which previously were in the same time zone as Vancouver, may now be different” after the shift.
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On permanent daylight time, skies could stay dark until as late as 9 a.m. in Vancouver and 9:30 a.m. in communities further north, like Prince George.
The change does not affect B.C.’s Peace Region or the Kootenay town of Creston, which have never changed clocks for daylight time. It would also not affect the East Kootenay region, which is aligned with the time in Alberta.
The repercussions go beyond the public sector. The association representing construction workers in B.C. expressed concern around later sunrises for crews who already work well before dawn. Several scientists, including a Stanford professor whose work was cited by B.C.’s government, said the shift could be detrimental to public health.
Alberta, Manitoba, parts of northern Ontario and the Northwest Territories adopted similar measures this year, while Yukon did the same in 2020. Saskatchewan has had permanent standard time since 1966.
“I grew up in Saskatchewan and the time never changed,” said Mills, the union representative. “Moving to B.C., it was always weird when it did. I think, obviously, there is going to be some hazards, but I think British Columbians will eventually just adapt.”
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A 2019 public survey in B.C. found 93 per cent out of a “record” 223,000 people polled supported year-round daylight time, according to officials, and “across all industry groups and nearly all occupational groups, support for year-round [daylight time] observance was higher than 90 per cent.”
Fehr said the new schedule will make his job easier because he’ll have an extra hour of overlap in the workday with his colleagues out east. He said it will also make his life better, personally, as the father of a boy in elementary school.
“I’m happy with it, not having to have my son go through the whole time change, which can really mess with their internal clock and to make bedtime a little less fun and in the morning time as well,” said Fehr.
“It’s nice that we’ll not have to do that again.”