Gas prices are always a hot topic of conversation in Ontario. Recently Ford squashed cap and trade, and that, combined with the seasonal drop that usually occurs this time of year, brought prices down about 5 cents per litre.

A new bill, ‘The Fairness in Petroleum Products Pricing Act’, was introduced earlier this year and just passed its second reading. The bill would let the Ontario Energy Board determine gas prices and help regulate and control the market, ending the wide gap in prices between different communities and those seemingly arbitrary spikes in prices, especially on weekends.

The bill was tabled by Timmons MPP Gilles Bisson, and it’s similar to another bill that was shot down by the then Liberal government. Now Bisson is hoping it can pass with the help of his PC colleagues.

Bisson told CBC News that the fluctuating prices can be particularly difficult for people living up north.”You’ll leave Timmins and you’ll drive down 144, go through Sudbury get into 69 and eventually down to the 400, and you’ll see as much as 10 to 15 cents a litre difference, depending where you are,” he said. “And imagine if you live in a place like Moosonee or Attawapiskat. There, you’re paying prices that people would faint if they got to the pumps.”

One of Doug Ford’s promises was to lower gas by 10 cents at the pumps, but the recent decrease falls short. This new bill, slated to go before the Legislative Assembly Committee for review, may be how he can deliver on his promise.

Source – CBC News

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