Fed-up Powell River residents hold town hall on high gas prices
Credit to Author: David Carrigg| Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2019 02:53:27 +0000
Residents of Powell River on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast held a rally on Sunday to protest what they feel is an unfairly high price they pay for a litre of gas.
“People are really angry about it, and they should be,” said organizer Pieta Woolley, of the mood of Powell River residents.
Woolley said that 100 people attended the meeting hosted by NDP MLA Nicholas Simons and NDP MP Rachel Blaney.
Powell River is a city of around 12,000 people on the northern part of the Sunshine Coast. It was once the largest producer of newsprint in the world.
Woolley said that gas comes from a terminal in Vancouver, and is then trucked to Richmond and barged to Powell River. The price a retailer sells their gas for is the price at the terminal, plus transportation costs, plus taxes, plus a profit margin.
On Dec. 15, the terminal price for a litre of gas in Vancouver was 77.1 cents. In Powell River, a litre of gas cost 147.9 cents. Taxes on that amount were 40.78 cents and Wooley said the barge company told her it cost 3.5 cents a litre to ship from Richmond to Powell River.
Therefore, the retail profit margin, plus trucking costs, was 26.52 cents a litre.
Woolley said that based on her calculations, the average two-driver family in Powell River now pays an extra $100 a month for gas compared to their neighbours across the water in Courtney or Comox, that get their gasoline from Nanaimo.
“That makes a significant difference in their budget,” she said, adding that Powell River already has some of the lowest household incomes in B.C. and an infrequent bus service that offers a poor alternative to driving.
It is unclear why the price of gas in Powell River is higher than in other regions, Woolley said. Communities like Squamish and Chilliwack also face inexplicably high gas taxes, prompting complaints, suspicions of price-gouging and calls to boycott certain gas stations.
Woolley said those attending Sunday’s protest signed a petition that would be presented to the B.C. government.
“We want the government to use its new powers to examine fuel pricing in Powell River,” she said. “We want this to be a test case for the Fuel Price Transparency Act.”
The new act was passed last month, in response to a B.C. Utilities Commission investigation earlier this year that found an unexplained 10 to 13-cent-per-litre premium charged at the pumps in B.C.
“People are finding it incredibly frustrating to watch the prices of gasoline shoot up for no reason, and they are tired of feeling ripped off whenever they fill up their vehicles,” said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology, when the law was passed on Nov. 27.
“This new legislation will make oil and gas companies accountable to British Columbians for unfair markups and will discourage cost increases that seemingly cannot be explained. If there is a reason for charging premiums, prove it.”
with files from Cheryl Chan