From $109.9 to $133.9 per litre in less than a week!
Wow! Isn’t it strange that in just a couple of days, gasoline prices at the Campbell River pumps have jumped over 20 cents per litre?
It seems even stranger since the market price for crude has continued to bounce around $90 a barrel for most of the last year. I don’t remember seeing anything in the news or on TV warning of crude shortages, refinery explosions or anything that might explain the rise. Have you? It is even stranger that within a day or so every service station in town, regardless of its colours, decided to push the price of its gasoline up over a $1 a gallon. And even more surprising is that they managed to do this almost within minutes of each other. So much for competition.
If we really had true competition in this market, you would think that:
1. The timing of price changes would be much less co-ordinated.
2, Price hikes and per litre charges in a community would vary a lot more than they do!
3. And you would expect gasoline prices, at your
favorite station in Campbell River, Nanaimo or Duncan would be similar to each other rather than all being within a penny or two of what appears to be the differing industry-approved price in each of these communities which you see as you motor down the Island.
No wonder BC’ers feel like puppets at the end of the petroleum producers strings.
No wonder BC’ers want to pull right back on their strings and say ”no” to their northern pipeline proposal!
Jack Perry
Campbell River
