Less than a month before the time change, the Parti Québécois wants to open a new debate with a petition to the National Assembly on this practice, which, according to experts, “doesn’t do anything good, especially not for sleep.”
“It is a problem that affects 100% of the population: sleep. […] This should be the subject of debate because there are real problems,” said Pascal Bérubé, PQ member for Matane-Matapédia, who will support the petition submitted in the fall.
The Parti Québécois also submitted a motion in 2019 with the aim of setting up a study group on this topic. Mr Bérubé also tried in vain to revive the debate last year.
Open to “analyzing the problem”
Asked about this, the office of Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, who is responsible for deciding whether or not to abolish the time change in Quebec, appeared for the first time open to an “analysis of this question”.
An outdated measure
According to experts interviewed by Le Journal, the time change, introduced during the First World War to increase production, no longer makes sense today and also has harmful consequences for health.
Lack of energy and concentration, fatigue, loss of sleep synchronization within the family and even depression are some examples given by Nadia Gosselin, neuropsychologist, professor and scientific director of the Center for Advanced Studies in Sleep Medicine at the “Hospital of the Sacred Heart” Montreal.
Nadia Gosselin, a neuropsychologist and professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Montreal, believes that time changes have harmful effects on sleep.
Young people and older people also have difficulty dealing with these changes, the specialist adds.
“The well-being of the population is more important than that of people who work and want an extra hour of sun on their terrace next to the grill in the summer evenings,” emphasizes Jonathan Charest, board member of the Canadian Sleep Society and doctoral student in psychology.
He also claims that daylight saving time causes “permanent jet lag” in the brain.
Jonathan Charest is a member of the Executive Committee of the Canadian Sleep Society. He believes that the time change should be abolished.
According to experts as well as the Canadian Sleep Society, the standard time, which we will return to on November 5th, should be adopted permanently.
This time corresponds better to our “biological clock,” they claim.
Accidents and strokes
Studies over the years have shown, among other things, that in the days following the daylight saving time change, the number of traffic accidents increased, as did the number of hospital admissions due to accidents. cerebrovascular (stroke).
- The time change will take place on November 5th at 2 a.m. We will change the clock back to Eastern Standard Time.
Other countries are taking action
Last year, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to abolish the time change and give priority to daylight saving time. However, the bill has still not been ratified by the Upper House.
Several countries have decided to abandon the time change, including recently Mexico, where standard time has been in effect since October 2022.
In Canada we do not change time in Saskatchewan and the Yukon.
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