Quebec government considers abolishing time change, announces consultations [Video]

The Quebec government wants to hear Quebecers’ thoughts about scrapping the twice-yearly time change, but it isn’t promising to act on them.

Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette on Tuesday launched a public consultation on the time change, and said the government could subsequently table legislation to abolish the decades-old and much-maligned tradition.

“The time has come to question the relevance and the future of the time change in Quebec,” he told reporters in Quebec City. Jolin-Barrette said changing the clocks has “important impacts on the lives of Quebecers,” and can cause a lack of concentration, irritability and fatigue, especially in children and teenagers.

However, he didn’t commit to any timeline for legislation, and didn’t say whether the government would prefer to stick with winter or summer time year-round. The public consultation, in the form of an online questionnaire, will last until Dec. 1.

Sleep experts have long called for the time …