NDP calls for end to gas gouging

The Ontario Energy Board should have the power to regulate gas prices across the province, says the NDP.

Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas, the NDP's current transportation critic, and Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Micheal Mantha, were outside a Shell gas station in Sudbury Friday where they made their plea for more government regulations when it comes to gas prices.

“How can you explain that North Bay right now pays 84 cents a litre, and you can see behind me that we are paying 96 cents a litre here,” said Gélinas. “The number of people reaching out to us in the northeast, in Sudbury, Nickel Belt and Algoma-Manitoulin is going through the roof.”

Gélinas said the Ontario Energy Board has done a good job regulating hydro costs and natural gas prices, and should extend its reach to the province's gas pumps.

The NDP has prepared a petition to bring that recommendation forward to the province.

But the Liberals have been resistant to the idea so far.

“Our government does not believe regulating gasoline prices is in the best interest of consumers,” said Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli in a press statement.

Mantha said the inconsistencies in gas prices across the province have not been fair.

According to GasBuddy.com, the lowest price for gas in Toronto Friday was 83.9 cents per litre. North Bay had a low of 83.6 cents per litre, while the lowest price in Sudbury, at Independent at the Pumps on Lorne Street, was 94.3 cents per litre.

“Fair is fair. Treat everybody across this province equally,” Mantha said. “People across Northern Ontario are happy to finally see the prices come down, but they're not coming down fast enough for northerners.”