Changes to Standard Time Act Proclaimed

Amendments to the Standard Time Act debated last fall in the House of Assembly have been proclaimed and will come into effect Sunday, November 6, 2011. The changes, which alter the reference time for Daylight Saving Time to 2:00 a.m., bring Newfoundland and Labrador in line with other jurisdictions in North America.

“These changes alter the time our province will officially signal the start and end of Daylight Saving Time,” said the Honourable Kevin O’Brien, Minister of Municipal Affairs. “This November will be the first use of the new reference time and we expect a smooth transition.”

In addition to putting Newfoundland and Labrador in sync with the rest of North America, the change in reference time will also help avoid the use of complicated software patches which were typically required for some automated services as a result of Newfoundland and Labrador using a different Daylight Savings reference time.

Minister O’Brien indicated that software companies have already made the changes necessary to accommodate the new reference time and have indicated that they are prepared for the change.

Residents will now change their clocks at 2:00 a.m. as opposed to 12:01 a.m., as was the previous practice.

While the reference time has changed, the days when Daylight Saving Time begins and ends have not changed. They remain the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November.

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Media contact:
Ken Morrissey
Director of Communications
Department of Municipal Affairs
709-729-1983
kenmorrissey@gov.nl.ca 

2011 09 12             1:40 p.m.