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The three companies are among the largest players in B.C.’s retail gas market. Their refusal to volunteer key data may prove problematic for the commission inquiry, which was ordered in May by the provincial government to examine the factors behind record high gas prices in the Lower Mainland. Premier John Horgan has said he wanted to know if price gouging was at play.

“We will continue to cooperate and to provide information to the BCUC that is not competitively sensitive,” Suncor spokesperson Paul Newmarch said in a statement Tuesday.

Husky spokesperson Kim Guttormson said the commission is unable to safeguard the information to the company’s satisfaction.

“Under its governing legislation and the inquiry mandate from the B.C. government, the BCUC was unable to provide an appropriate level of confidentiality for the information,” he wrote. “We continue to discuss the issue with the BCUC.”

Commission hearings begin next week in Vancouver. The government forbid the commission from examining the role of provincial taxes on the price of gasoline.

Gas prices spiked to more than $1.70 per litre in the Lower Mainland in May, but have since declined to the $1.40 to $1.50 range.

Photo by Francis Georgian / PNG

7-Eleven Canada, which operates 124 retail gas stations in B.C., was the only international retailer to provide profit margin data on gasoline and diesel. It asked the utilities commission to keep the information confidential, and redacted the figures from its publicly posted written reply.