THUNDER BAY – NEWS – Filling up your tank is a lot more expensive this morning. The price of a litre of regular gasoline is now at $1.799 at stations in the city.
It is likely as the benchmark price for a barrel of oil is increasing that gas and diesel prices will go up even more.
This has generated a political battle in Ontario between the New Democrats and Progressive Conservatives.
“Our government is about making life more affordable, not more difficult. We kept our promise to cut fuel prices in the province by scrapping cap and trade, saving drivers 4.3 cents a litre,” said Greg Rickford, MPP for Kenora—Rainy River. “Meanwhile, Andrea Horwath supports a tax that would add 35 cents to every litre of gas. The people of Northern Ontario just can’t afford the NDP.”
Minister Rickford says, “As Northern Ontario drivers are feeling intense pressure at the pumps, Andrea Horwarth wants to see prices go even higher.
“Not only did she admit to reporters at Queen’s Park that she would like to see higher prices at the pump, she’s proposing measures that have been shown to make gas more expensive.”
The New Democrats firing back state, “Gas prices are hitting Northern and rural Ontarians especially hard — they pay the highest price for gas in the province.
“The NDP’s Fairness in Petroleum Products Pricing Act will require the Ontario Energy Board to regulate the retail price and wholesale mark-up of petroleum products in Ontario”.
“At a time when the cost of housing, child care, groceries and everything else is rising fast, record high gas prices are taking a big bite of out family budgets,” said NDP leader Andrea Horwath. “Doug Ford had three years to fix this problem and stop the gouging. But, like the Liberals, he’s siding with his buddies in the oil and gas industries, and the rest of us are paying for it.
“You’re getting gouged at the gas pump. Let’s fix it.”
“In the north, we’ve got families spending hundreds of dollars per week to fill up the cars just to get to work and school,” said Bisson. “Government after government doesn’t want to take on the oil and gas companies, so they just keep gouging people like us.
“Andrea Horwath’s NDP will finally fix the skyrocketing price of gas. The Ontario Energy Board can and should regulate the retail price and wholesale mark-up of gas — so that prices are fair, stable and competitive regardless of where you live.”
The Progressive Conservatives state, “Thanks to an analysis commissioned by Ontario’s independent regulator, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), we know that gas regulation in other provinces, similar to what the NDP have proposed, causes higher prices than competitive, market driven approaches like we have here in Ontario. Andrea Horwath and the NDP think they know better than the OEB.
“The Ontario NDP’s scheme to drive up gas prices to convince drivers to take public transit completely ignores the unique needs of northern Ontario. Further, NDP MPP for Ottawa Centre, Joel Harden has called for the highest carbon tax in the world, which would increase gas prices by 35 cents per litre”.
“We also know that our government’s work to lower gas prices has been offset by the federal government’s carbon tax, which is adding nearly nine cents to every litre of gas Ontarians use today and is set to rise another 2.2 cents per litre on April 1, 2022”.
