An Edmonton NDP MLA is reaching out to Albertans to get more feedback about his proposed private member’s bill that would end Daylight Saving Time (DST) and introduce a year-round standard time in the province.
Edmonton South West MLA Thomas Dang has been meeting with stakeholders about the Amendment to Daylight Saving Time Act, which he said would provide stability for parents, families, employers and workers.
“We’ve heard from hundreds of Albertans since we went public with this and that includes mostly young families who are worried about their children and how the time change affects them in schools and classes,” Dang said.
“We think that this is something that people are actually very passionate about.”
READ MORE: Get rid of daylight saving time switch? Alberta MLA pushing for referendum
Dang also noted the agriculture industry is in support of ending DST.
“For farms with poultry for example, if you change the time for the chicken, you can see as much as a 20 per cent yield reduction for those,” Dang said.
The government has launched an online survey to hear more feedback from Albertans about the issue.
A town hall will also be held in the Federal Building in Edmonton Friday evening.
“We’re looking to make sure that we have thoroughly consulted people to ensure that we understand what Albertans want moving forward,” Dang said.
The MLA said the information gathered from the survey and town hall will help determine whether he moves forward with the proposed bill.
“I think that we’re interested in hearing from Albertans to see if we want to move forward with this piece of legislation because it hasn’t been tabled in the house yet, and we still have quite some time to hear from Albertans on what they want to do.”
READ MORE: POLL: Should Canada get rid of Daylight Saving Time?
Seventy-one per cent of the people who voted in a Global News online poll in December were in favour of keeping Daylight Saving Time in Alberta. But our most recent Global News poll shows only 27 per cent are in favour of keeping it.
The proposed bill doesn’t specify if a change would mean Alberta would be under Central Standard Time or Mountain Standard Time. Dang said that will be determined if he decides to move forward with the legislation.
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