It’s time once again to set the clocks back one hour on Saturday night as we return to standard daylight saving time – a practice which has stirred up debate since it was implemented for the first time in 1941 as a wartime power saving measure.
First observed in Ontario and Quebec only before being extended across the country, every year we see an increase in the number of heart attacks and strokes as well as a spike in traffic accidents yet the clocks keep changing and the debate is quickly forgotten until the spring rolls around once again.
Approximately half of the countries that once used DST have since abolished it with Europe and North America being the main holdouts still practicing seasonal clock changes.
Story by Richard Evans