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George Sweeney, Opposition Government Services Critic and MHA for the
District of Carbonear - Harbour Grace, says Minister Dianne Whalen has an
obligation to bring forward legislative changes to the Petroleum Products
Pricing Act to lower gas prices more quickly. "The price of gas in this
province has been at record levels for the past three weeks, despite world
oil prices that have been at their lowest point in recent months," said
Sweeney. "We had a situation in this province last week where oil companies
themselves were voluntarily dropping gas prices in the Avalon region. This
indicates to me that regulated prices are certainly not being regulated to
benefit consumers.
"The Minister refuses to show leadership on this issue and, as a result,
oil companies are allowed to make record profits on the backs of consumers
in this province. When prices were set on April 15th, the
commission stated that the formula mandated by government caused the last
increase in prices.
"The legislation must be changed to allow prices to go down in situations
like we have today because the current formula obviously does not work as it
was intended. Government must also put some teeth into the interruption
formula so that it is limited to situations where real interruptions in
supply exist.
"The price of oil has retreated from highs set in March, yet consumers
continue to pay through the nose. I have demanded leadership from this
Minister on a number of occasions and I will continue to press her for
action. It is time she stood up to big business and represented the views of
consumers in this province by changing the Petroleum Products Pricing Act in
the House of Assembly this spring."
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