Duncan – The letter in last week’s paper by Greg McCallum on the way we are being price-gouged for gas was interesting.
It’s nice to see that someone actually realizes there is something severely wrong with our system of setting fuel prices. Basically, as I see it, this type of consumer abuse is a result of our government’s failure to act in the interests of its citizens.
As Mr. McCallum states, other countries with large oil reserves control the price of fuel and are not at the mercy of speculators. I know for a fact that in Venezuela gas prices are controlled to the equivalent of around 30 cents per litre.
Even though the price of a barrel of oil is a strictly arbitrary number, there has always been a ratio between this and the pump price. When oil was at around $130 a barrel a couple of years ago we were paying about $1.30 per litre for gas. Now that oil is between $50 and $60 we pare paying $1.22. This ratio has obviously been abandoned and skewed drastically against the consumer.
While I hesitate to use the word corrupt when referring to our federal government, its refusal to act on this matter for the benefit of Canadians leaves me with a very distrustful feeling. However, the way the tax on fuel is charged is a very powerful disincentive for federal action, as the government collects
more tax, as a percentage, the higher the pump price.
I have been hoping for many years to see government control on fuel prices become an election issue. We have another chance to make some demands on the parties in the fall election, but given the apathy of many voters I am not optimistic about future gas prices.
K. Beaumont Duncan
