Letters, Nov. 3

The times, they aren’t a-changin’

I would like to ask Premier Wab Kinew a very simple question: Why in the world would you want to leave the clocks on permanent daylight time rather than continue changing them twice a year, as Manitobans have been accustomed to doing for decades?

Manitoba is in the geographical middle of Canada. Our time zone should reflect our location and our relationship with the rest of Western Canada.

I simply cannot understand the reasoning behind keeping Manitoba on permanent daylight time. Changing our clocks twice a year has been part of our lives since 1963. Why fix something that has worked for generations?

There are practical consequences to consider as well. Permanent daylight time means much darker mornings during the winter months. Children going to school, people heading to work and anyone who has to be out early would be dealing with darkness well into the morning. What exactly are we gaining by making that trade-off?

More importantly, why would Manitoba want to move further away from the time system that makes sense for our geographical position and our neighbours to the west?

We are not Eastern Canada. Our decisions should reflect that.

I would genuinely like to hear the reasoning behind this proposal. Have the practical consequences for Manitobans been properly considered, or is this simply a decision being made without enough thought about the people who will have to live with it?

I strongly believe Manitoba should reconsider permanent daylight time, and maintain the traditional practice of changing our clocks twice a year.

Ted Main

Winnipeg

The central time zone is the best. Prime-time TV starts at 7 p.m., not 8 p.m. Late-night TV starts at 10:30, not 11:30. Who would have watched Johnny Carson at 11:30? Or David Letterman at 12:30 a.m.?

In the central time zone, NFL games start at noon, with the later games at 3 p.m. (or so). Back in the day, Hockey Night in Canada would come on at 7 p.m. on Saturdays. When they switched to two games a night, the early game was on at 6 p.m. and the late game at 9 p.m. to end before midnight.

Perfect.

Manitoba has walked away from perfection with the adoption of uniform daylight time. This means that we are now the same time as New York City and Quebec City. That is madness!

Why did we abandon perfection? Because people were upset about changing clocks a couple times a year? That was the burden people couldn’t endure any longer? If they think that was a big burden, they won’t be too happy with the ones the future will bring.

There was some evidence suggesting higher rates of accidents on Mondays following time changes, presumably because people couldn’t adjust to the time difference soon enough. Well, why not change the clocks early on Saturday morning rather than Sunday, so people would have more time to make the adjustment before the Monday work week begins?

I didn’t think that changing the clock was that onerous. But if we are going to be on one time zone, I’d suggest the one that has the sun overhead Manitoba at noon. That should be the guideline.

I suspect a noon sun guideline would put Manitoba more in line with other places that are the same longitude as us. Dallas and Mexico City are almost exactly the same longitude as Winnipeg. Their time is -6 hours Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), not -5 GMT, which is what we traditionally know as eastern time.

Manitoba is not in the east. We shouldn’t be on eastern time.

But we are now.

And I hate it.

Evan Pritchard

Winnipeg

As we sit here within the first few days of our new permanent daylight time, I challenge the Free Press and anyone associated with government who are still repeating the fallacy that this time change reflects “the will of the people,” rather than the whim of the premier, to consider the maths associated with the “referendum.”

I specifically put the term “referendum” in quotation marks, as anyone looking at the actual mathematics should quickly realize this initiative is not truly an expression of the will of the citizens of Manitoba.

Using the data from the Province of Manitoba’s January 2026 Demographic Bulletin, there were 1,505,117 people residing in the province. The total number of votes cast for this “referendum,” according to a government news release on Sept. 17, was approximately 72,000, of which 58 per cent, or 41,760, were votes cast for remaining on permanent daylight time.

These numbers equate to 4.8 per cent of Manitobans registering an opinion in the referendum, and 2.8 per cent of the population declaring to be in favour of maintaining daylight time.

We will now have early-evening winter nightfall as usual, and an entirely new level of darkness well into the mid-morning throughout the depths of winter, which will be especially impactful the farther west one is in the time zone.

Wiseacres might want to reflect on the reasons why the premier’s pet project literally requires Manitobans to remain in the dark, but I’ll leave this to others to expand upon.

Kyle Lewkowich

Winnipeg

Cautious Carney

U.S. President Donald Trump says the United States has been losing money for many years doing business with Canada. We are doing him a big favour by buying goods made in Canada or Asian and European countries.

It gets very cold in Canada during the winter months and our respite of choice has been southern California, Florida and other southern U.S. states. President Trump called us “nasty people,” so I guess he won’t mind not seeing us so much anymore as we find new places to hang out during the winter months.

Making nice and extending an olive branch on the eve of the U.S. midterm elections is as phony as a three-dollar bill. Prime Minister Mark Carney is wise to not be overly excited about the prospect of freer trade in the near future.

Peter Kaufmann

Winnipeg

Instant replay?

I’m confused. I thought it was November 2026 and part of the 2026/2027 NHL hockey season. Yet as I sat watching the Jets losing to Carolina 7 to 0, I could swear it was the 2025/2026 Jets on the ice.

Former Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck had no right to criticize his teammates, who are some of the most talented hockey players in the NHL. He ought to have criticized ownership and management.

The general manager can’t get rid of the whole team and the fans can’t get rid of the owners, but the owners can get rid of the entire coaching staff and GM. It is time they do so.

Joseph Pollock

Winnipeg

Out with the old, in with the Blue

Winnipeg’s mayor — same old, same old.

Winnipeg Jets — same old, same old.

But how about those Winnipeg Blue Bombers? Despite interceptions, fumbles and multiple penalties, they eked out a win in the CFL eastern semifinal over the Toronto Argonauts and their million-dollar man, Chad Kelly.

Imagine if they were able to win against the Montreal Alouettes next weekend and advance to the Grey Cup.

A win in the Grey Cup would be a fitting late-career highlight for Bomber veterans like Stanley Bryant, Zach Collaros, Patrick Neufeld, Nic Demski, Willie Jefferson and coach Mike O’Shea.

Go Bombers!

Wally Barton

Winnipeg