While residents across the region reset their clocks back one hour in the early hours of Sunday, November 1, Québec government is planning to end the twice a year time change in the province. However, the Mayor of Lachute says there are more important issues to focus on.
On Wednesday, October 28, Québec Premier Paul St-Pierre-Plamondon said the most recent time switch will be the last time residents of the province set their clocks back one hour in November. However, the Premier did not specify if the province would be remaining on Eastern Standard Time or permanently changing to Eastern Daylight Time in March 2027.
On October 28, Minister of Justice Marie-Claude Sarrazin, announced she will table a bill in the legislature to end the twice-yearly time change after consultations with Quebecers and numerous studies demonstrating the impact on mental health and the health of families and seniors.
The previous Minister of Justice in the former CAQ government conducted a survey which found that 91 per cent of respondents wanted to stop changing the clocks.
When asked how the switch to a single time could impact the local business community, Lachute Mayor Bernard Bigras-Denis said it the Parti Québécois government is choosing to make an easy decision rather than address more complex issues such as taking measures to benefit the economy and provide relief from American tariffs.
“I think there’s other priorities than changing time,” Bigras-Denis said.
“It’s no what our businesses need right now,” he added.
Unless similar adjustments are made in Ontario and depending on if Québec chooses permanent standard or daylight time, the time could end up being different in communities along the provincial boundary such as Hawkesbury and Grenville. In Pointe-Fortune, the boundary runs along one of the village’s streets.
