With more and more jurisdictions around the world moving away from time change, the Liberal Opposition is suggesting that New Brunswick should consider eliminating the practice as well.

“Time change has become nothing but a hassle for most people. Changing all the clocks in your home twice a year has become a very outdated practice with little to no benefits,” said Interim Liberal Leader Roger Melanson. “The negative effects outweigh any positive aspects of this practice. For the week following either the autumn or spring time change, the most common type of small talk becomes how difficult it is to mentally or physically adapt to the new time.”

With research indicating that time change can have a negative impact on a person’s physical and mental well-being, as well their productivity, the Liberal Leader wonders why we still abide by this practice.

“Forcing your body and mind to adjust to a new time twice a year can be much more difficult than having an extra cup of coffee in the morning,” said Melanson. “From what I have been hearing, the people of New Brunswick are tired of going through this time every six months and I think it’s time to get rid of the time change once and for all.”

Melanson points out that other Canadian jurisdictions have already or are in the process of eliminating the time change. “We aren’t the first to consider doing this. Yukon eliminated time change earlier this year, Saskatchewan eliminated it in the 1960’s, and the Ontario Legislature just passed a bill doing the same thing,” said Melanson. “As the Maritime provinces are so closely connected, I would encourage Nova Scotia and PEI to also consider abolishing the time change.”