On 2026-03-06 11:39, Paul Eggert via tz wrote:
On 2026-03-06 08:11, Robert Bastian via tz wrote:
Because CLDR keys its display names by this flag, this change will cause ICU and other downstream software (including major operating systems) to display BC’s UTC-7 as "Pacific Standard Time," while Los Angeles’ UTC-7 will display as "Pacific Daylight Time."
Maintenance releases of ICU 78.3 and CLDR 48.2 are scheduled for this month, so it seems unlikely that anythng to do with these changes could make it in. Major releases ICU 79 and CLDR 49 are planned for October and could incorporate changes required, including those to TZ DB.
Yes, and what's currently in the draft TZDB on GitHub (America/Vancouver switching to abbreviation "-07") was intended to be merely a placeholder. We weren't intending to publish it as 2026b.
For the reason you mention and for other software-compatibility reasons, let's change the "-07" placeholder to an alphabetic abbreviation. The simplest fix appears to be to change to the abbreviation "MST", as is already the case for America/Vancouver's geographic neighbors that observe UTC-7 all year. This should fix the CLDR issue (albeit in a different way than what you suggested), and should be good enough until the BC government and/or common practice advises us all later on what three-or-more-character abbreviation is most popular.
Of course we'd prefer to make just one change now, and no changes later, but it seems we do not have that luxury given the rushed way this was done legally. And I would rather publish something before the actual legal change occurs on Monday, rather than issue a post-facto change.
That would likely be a divergence from the expectation and requirement that time remains P[D]T, until other libraries and systems have a chance to catch up for November, and only then will any change in time zone be obvious, especially as most devices (phones) will then show MST, compatible with Yukon and eastern BC regions following AB time, rather than PT or anything similar. ISTM that if you want enable apps and systems to display anything other than TZ DB ids, you have to allow adequate time for those changes to be planned, implemented, and distributed, when possible. Otherwise you will be encouraging downstreams to use the TZ DB ids to provide quick results, with possibly consequent flurries of complaints from downstreams, users, and demands from irate politicians and provincial government officials, who ignored the requirement for adequate prior notice and consultation with the local/summer time keeping global community on here. I would also urge Alberta politicians, who are once again talking about pushing our time zone further east, or who knows what may be in their tiny minds this time, to have provincial government officials get in touch here for guidance, before the October referendum, on which they are now talking about including a question about the summer time issue. Otherwise they risk any ill considered ideas being ignored, and popping up on their phones different from their plans, as appears likely with BC time. -- Take care. Thanks, Brian Inglis Calgary, Alberta, Canada La perfection est atteinte Perfection is achieved non pas lorsqu'il n'y a plus rien à ajouter not when there is no more to add mais lorsqu'il n'y a plus rien à retrancher but when there is no more to cut -- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry