The exchange is the House of Assembly is listed here.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, one of the duties of the Petroleum Products Pricing Commissioner and the Commission itself was to ensure, and is to ensure, that gas supplies, gasoline supplies, are available to isolated communities at market prices. With the upheaval now taking place in the Petroleum Products Pricing Commission office, some suppliers are refusing to fill orders in parts of Labrador until the new commissioner interrupts the zonal pricing formula to allow them to make a higher profit.

Is the minister aware of this developing crisis situation, and is she aware that community gas stations in Labrador have today sold out of their supply and cannot get new orders filled? The question then, along with that, Mr. Speaker, is: What is the minister planning to do to ensure that untenable situation in Labrador is resolved and that people living in some of these communities in Labrador do not have to go another day without having any access to gasoline?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS WHALEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Opposition Leader for his question. I will take it under advisement and check into the situation.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I think that answer in itself is a testimony to the fact that there is an upheaval and that the minister does not know what is going on with respect to interruptions and lack of availability of gasoline. She will find the answer when she provides the undertaking that she just did, to check into it.

Mr. Speaker, it has come to our attention as well that the oil companies are taking advantage of the confusion currently surrounding the Petroleum Products Pricing Commission - confusion that was created largely by the government and the minister in the rushed and poorly-thought-out move to fire the pricing commissioner prematurely.

Mr. Speaker, the question is: Isn’’t it true, and can the minister confirm, that the oil companies have already approached the new commissioner, the Public Utilities Board commissioner, for another price hike, with the hope of capitalizing on the inexperience in the position today, and is it likely that we will see price increases again, even as early as the end of this week or this weekend?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, all of our gas regulations will now come under the PUB. Mr. Noseworthy is the interim commissioner, has been appointed, and any questions referring to the gas interruption should be put to the PUB. Also, I understand that they are using the same formulas that the previous commission used, so there is no interruption in services. Any questions will have to be directed to the PUB, because that is an independent agency.