Dear Editor:
The public are being gouged and siphoned by the oil companies. The oil companies say it is all about supply and demand. Yes, they supply petroleum then demand ransom.
Oil insiders say unison in prices is proof of the free market. In a free market there would be companies boosting sales by dropping prices. Competition is an illusion.
All Canadians own the oil resource.
The federal government lets the private oil companies grab the oil. After giving the companies generous subsidies, tax write-offs and loopholes the federal government gets only about eight per cent of the oil company revenues through income tax.
The federal government should be getting a lot more taxes and fees from the private oil companies for our oil. Instead, it recovers the subsidies and tax gifts given to oil companies by cutting services, benefits and raising taxes to all Canadians.
Norway doesn’t need private foreign-owned oil companies and their executives to run Norway’s oil industry. Because of its publicly run oil industry, Norway has a surplus fund of $700 billion US. In contrast, siphoned by the privatized oil industry, Canada sinks deeper into massive debt.
As shareholders of their oil industry, Norwegians reap direct benefits. They live carefree with social benefits almost free like medicare, dental care, pharmacare, child day care and university education. Norway even provides free university education to any student from anywhere around the world.
In Canada, the privatized oil industry gets generous corporate welfare while many university students struggle working at three jobs to pay tuition fees and debts.
Why not give the government an ultimatum that you want Canada to advance and be like Norway where the people run their own oil industry or you will find or form a political party that will?
Robert Cichocki
Kelowna
