I admit that when I first heard about the daylight savings time debate, I had pretty much the same reaction as you, I miss Reagan. And although I do still believe that the concerns that you've listed must be at least partially responsible for all of the skepticism surrounding this (and I agree that that part is ridiculous), there are a few valid points that need to be considered.
The first being that Canada has a different climate than the US. While it may save energy for th US to have extra daylight hours, the same is not necessarily true for Canadians. If we follow this system, it has been speculated that we will end up staying up later because the day will, in essence, feel longer. If we stay up later, our furnaces stay on later, our lights stay on later, our computers are running longer etc. The same is not necessarily true of the US to the same degree since their climate is much milder than ours.
Secondly, while I don't think we should oppose something purely on the grounds that we don't like the person who suggested it, I think there is something to be said for not wanting to be bullied into changing our ways. If we do eventually find that it doesn't make sense for us to do this, I think it would be just as absurd for us to go along with it "because the US suggested it" as it would be for us to oppose it "because the US suggested it".
