Time issue returns to Atikokan council Monday night

Atikokan council is expected to continue their discussion today over which time zone the community should follow.

Atikokan does not change its clocks in the spring and fall, resulting in the community staying with Eastern time during the fall and winter and following Central time in the spring and summer.

According to published reports, Atikokan had adopted Eastern Standard Time in 1951 to avoid confusion with ore shipments that went by rail from the area’s mines to the Lakehead.

Efforts to make changes have come up several times since the mines closed in the late 1980s.

Two referendums in 1985 and in 1997 saw residents vote overwhelmingly against adopting Eastern Daylight Saving Time.

Town councillor George Martin suggested earlier this year that the town should stay with the Eastern Time zone year-round.

A report from administration is recommending that council discontinue the matter because of other issues requiring more immediate attention.

It adds that if council were to pursue the matter, public consultation would be necessary and that it is too late to put a question on the ballot in this fall’s municipal elections.

Staff also contacted the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, which advised of the need for a formal resolution from council, with final approval likely coming from the provincial government.

The Ontario Legislature approved an amendment to the province’s Time Act a few years ago that ended the changing of the clocks, but was contingent upon Quebec and New York passing similar legislation.