Background:
In March 2026, BC passed enabling legislation to finalize the implementation of Pacific Time as the new year-round time for British Columbia, replacing the alternating cycle of Pacific Standard and Pacific Daylight Time. The legislation and associated regulations governing time observance in BC reference Pacific Time exclusively. There is no legislative authority for alternative monikers, and existing statutory language is explicit in its use of Pacific Time.
Previous backgrounder materials publicly published have confirmed that locations currently observing Mountain Standard Time will continue to do so and will not be merged into the new Pacific Time zone construct.
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, an international standards body, is the central authority on how computers and other electronic devices record and manage time and time zones. IANA recently reached out, requesting clarification on how the BC Government would like time to be recorded in BC.
It is our understanding named time zones (e.g., “Pacific Time”) are not typically used in IT systems. Typically named time zones are used in public facing documents, forms and websites as it is easier for non-technical audiences to understand. The international standard (ISO 8601) directs use for systems of a format where the time is represented in its relation to the coordinated universal time (e.g., UTC-7), which enables clarity and interoperability between systems.
A recommendation is being drafted, noting that maintaining a time zone code explicitly aligned with Pacific Time best reflects legislative intent and reduces legal and compliance risk.
Recommended time zone name: Pacific Time
Recommended time zone code: PacT
Ask:
We would like to ensure there are no large, costly, or otherwise risky impacts to systems with this recommendation (we want to gut check our assumption that systems are not using named time zones or name time zone codes-e.g., “Pacific Time” or “PST”). Can you each please do a quick scan with your teams to confirm if you anticipate any impacts of note that may sway the recommendation? The ask is to respond by May 14—only highlighting if there are showstopper impacts that need to be considered.
Background:
In March 2026, BC passed enabling legislation to finalize the implementation of Pacific Time as the new year-round time for British Columbia, replacing the alternating cycle of Pacific Standard and Pacific Daylight Time. The legislation and associated regulations governing time observance in BC reference Pacific Time exclusively. There is no legislative authority for alternative monikers, and existing statutory language is explicit in its use of Pacific Time.
Previous backgrounder materials publicly published have confirmed that locations currently observing Mountain Standard Time will continue to do so and will not be merged into the new Pacific Time zone construct.
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, an international standards body, is the central authority on how computers and other electronic devices record and manage time and time zones. IANA recently reached out, requesting clarification on how the BC Government would like time to be recorded in BC.
It is our understanding named time zones (e.g., “Pacific Time”) are not typically used in IT systems. Typically named time zones are used in public facing documents, forms and websites as it is easier for non-technical audiences to understand. The international standard (ISO 8601) directs use for systems of a format where the time is represented in its relation to the coordinated universal time (e.g., UTC-7), which enables clarity and interoperability between systems.
A recommendation is being drafted, noting that maintaining a time zone code explicitly aligned with Pacific Time best reflects legislative intent and reduces legal and compliance risk.
Recommended time zone name: Pacific Time
Recommended time zone code: PacT
Ask:
We would like to ensure there are no large, costly, or otherwise risky impacts to systems with this recommendation (we want to gut check our assumption that systems are not using named time zones or name time zone codes-e.g., “Pacific Time” or “PST”). Can you each please do a quick scan with your teams to confirm if you anticipate any impacts of note that may sway the recommendation? The ask is to respond by May 14—only highlighting if there are showstopper impacts that need to be considered.