Gas prices at service stations across Vancouver Island are at an all-time high.
The price per litre of regular gasoline is above $2.00, but do we really need to pay such high prices?
Steep and rapid increases followed the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
However, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives senior economist Marc Lee says higher retail prices in the region are simply an opportunity for more profits.
According to Lee, “consumers have been convinced, against their will, that you have to pay 50-per cent more for gasoline than they did as of a little while ago.”
He suggests that governments regulate gas prices to stop this type of behavior, or put an excess profits tax on the companies.
Lee says the gas that we’re now paying more than two dollars a litre for “comes from oil that is in Canadian soil, the vast majority of it in Alberta,” and there are a handful of refineries that turn it into gasoline for sale in the region.
Lee says the supply side is fairly stable from year to year, as is the annual demand for gas.
