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Gas gouge continues

Letters

Editor:

This letter was sent to B.C. Premier John Horgan and copied to Coast Reporter.

On June 5, the Sunshine Coast Labour Council submitted their letters of comment to the BC Utilities Commission’s inquiry into gasoline and diesel prices, after learning that we were being overcharged for the price of gas by about 11 cents per litre.

When we brought this information to the community, the price of gasoline was reduced. After the inquiry was announced, we believed the findings would show the overcharging and the specific areas of B.C. where it was most extreme. While the inquiry does confirm overcharging in the Metro Vancouver area, it does not confirm the most extreme over-charging is in other areas. Furthermore, it does not suggest any resolution.

On the Sunshine Coast this past summer, the price of gasoline remained steady at about 141.9 cents per litre, where it is today. This was well above the 11-cent margin for taxes and gas companies certainly profited from the busy tourist season. Today gasoline can be purchased in Vancouver for 141.9, the same price as here, while the prices in Prince George are as low as 110.9.

We are asking again that in B.C., gasoline prices be regulated by the BC Utilities Commission, so that in communities where gas companies have decided that it has been safe to overcharge, such as the Sunshine Coast, we can expect an end to the price gouging that results in millions of dollars in profits for the gas companies.

Ed Erickson, President, Sunshine Coast Labour Council