Ontario NDP vows to enact weekly cap on gas prices
Ontario New Democratic Leader Andrea Horwath is vowing to protect drivers at the pumps by setting a weekly price cap on the skyrocketing cost of gasoline.
The NDP would target gas prices, which have jumped as much as 10 cents a litre overnight in recent months, by giving Ontario’s energy regulator new powers to impose a weekly ceiling to reduce volatility. The Ontario Energy Board, which regulates electricity and natural gas prices in the province, would also be able to intervene to prevent gouging.
The point is not to keep prices artificially low, Ms. Horwath said at a news conference on the front lawn of the provincial legislature, where she was flanked by taxi drivers. Rather, it’s to stop the oil industry from price gouging.
Liberal campaign manager Greg Sorbara criticized the NDP promise, saying there is little a provincial government can do to force down petroleum prices, which are set internationally, and that even the United States government has reached a dead end trying to address this issue
However, some provinces have taken steps to take some of the volatility out of prices. In the four provinces in Atlantic Canada, prices are set once a week or every two weeks, with some flexibility for extreme emergencies. Quebec, along with 24 states south of the border, also regulate gas prices.
A quick scan of current gas prices reveals that consumers can pay more to fill up their tank in provinces with regulation. In Ontario, gas prices ranged from a low of 122.9 cents a litre on Thursday to a high of 132.9 cents. In Nova Scotia, the range was 127.9 cents to 132.6 cents. And in New Brunswick, 120.9 cents to 129.9 cents.
Overall, however, gas prices in Atlantic Canada are on average lower today than they were before regulation. Real revenues per litre of gas received by wholesalers and retailers in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island were lower after regulation, concludes a study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in Nova Scotia.
Ontario NDP vows to enact weekly cap on gas prices - The Globe and Mail
Ontario New Democratic Leader Andrea Horwath is vowing to protect drivers at the pumps by setting a weekly price cap on the skyrocketing cost of gasoline.
The NDP would target gas prices, which have jumped as much as 10 cents a litre overnight in recent months, by giving Ontario’s energy regulator new powers to impose a weekly ceiling to reduce volatility. The Ontario Energy Board, which regulates electricity and natural gas prices in the province, would also be able to intervene to prevent gouging.
The point is not to keep prices artificially low, Ms. Horwath said at a news conference on the front lawn of the provincial legislature, where she was flanked by taxi drivers. Rather, it’s to stop the oil industry from price gouging.
Liberal campaign manager Greg Sorbara criticized the NDP promise, saying there is little a provincial government can do to force down petroleum prices, which are set internationally, and that even the United States government has reached a dead end trying to address this issue
However, some provinces have taken steps to take some of the volatility out of prices. In the four provinces in Atlantic Canada, prices are set once a week or every two weeks, with some flexibility for extreme emergencies. Quebec, along with 24 states south of the border, also regulate gas prices.
A quick scan of current gas prices reveals that consumers can pay more to fill up their tank in provinces with regulation. In Ontario, gas prices ranged from a low of 122.9 cents a litre on Thursday to a high of 132.9 cents. In Nova Scotia, the range was 127.9 cents to 132.6 cents. And in New Brunswick, 120.9 cents to 129.9 cents.
Overall, however, gas prices in Atlantic Canada are on average lower today than they were before regulation. Real revenues per litre of gas received by wholesalers and retailers in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island were lower after regulation, concludes a study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in Nova Scotia.
Ontario NDP vows to enact weekly cap on gas prices - The Globe and Mail