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George Sweeney, Opposition Government Services Critic and MHA for the
District of Carbonear - Harbour Grace, says gas prices should have been
reduced today, but no changes were made because the Minister refuses to
makes changes to the current pricing legislation. "Consumers in this
province expected the Petroleum Products Pricing Commission to announce that
the price of gas would be cut last week and again today," said Sweeney.
"Instead, this morning we again hear that the price will remain high because
the regulator’s hands are tied due to problems with the legislation.
"The Minister has an obligation today to tell the public that her office
will review the provisions of the Petroleum Products Pricing Act to ensure
this situation never occurs again. It is not acceptable for this Minister to
turn a blind eye to oil companies that are gouging consumers based on a
loop-hole she refuses to close.
"Government has an obligation to protect consumers in this province, not
the large oil companies that are experiencing record profits. I am calling
on the Minister to act now to change the Petroleum Products Pricing Act to
fix the current problems. The office should only be allowed to use the
interruption formula when there is a threat to supply and an investigation
takes place. The Minister must also consider why prices were allowed to
increase last week and stay high this week even though world oil prices that
have fallen substantially over the past several weeks.
"If the Minister needs further evidence of the abuse of the interruption
formula since her government has taken office, she should just look at the
facts. Since her government took office, the interruption formula has been
used 13 times and only once did it allow for prices to be reduced. This
record speaks for itself and is simply not acceptable. A double standard
exists where prices go up quickly to protect the oil companies, but do not
go down when consumers need protection.
"The Minister has the ability and the obligation to make changes to this
legislation to ensure consumers in this province receive the same cost
savings being experienced by consumers across the country as the price of
oil declines."
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