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[dennisK]

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_10852.aspx

Consumers Being Gouged At The Pumps, Study Finds
Thursday May 10, 2007

It's one study where Canadians likely won't be surprised by the results. Consumers in this country are being cheated at the gas pump, according to an investigation by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The think tank found that motorists are being overcharged between 15 and 27 cents per litre depending on where they're filling up.

"For example, drivers in Toronto are currently being overcharged 15 cents per litre," said CCPA research associate Hugh Mackenzie, who did the analysis. The economist figures that the gouging has taken place since Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Since that time, prices have been consistently higher than they should be, taking costs of gas production and distribution into account.

Drivers in Vancouver fare the worst - they're apparently paying 27 cents a litre more than they should. In Winnipeg motorists are overpaying by 21 cents a litre, in Halifax 19 cents per litre, and 18 cents per litre in Edmonton.

"And every penny per litre generates an additional $1 million for the oil and gas industry every day from gasoline sales alone," says Mackenzie, who has developed a calculator to determine how much consumers are overpaying depending on what they pay and where.

His report claims once the oil companies broke the psychological loonie-a-litre level, it was open season on your wallet. And they'll use whatever excuse works. When the problem is in the U.S.- like a shortage or a hurricane - that's the reason for a sudden spike. But if there's a refinery fire in Nanticoke, what's happening Stateside no longer matters, and the problem is here. The study calls both explanations "after-the-fact rationalizations for the price-gouging opportunities seized by the oil industry, or noise introduced into the discussion to distract attention from what is really going on."

For Toronto motorists willing to wait to fill up, the Canadian Tire gas bar at Queensway and East Mall was charging about 20 cents a litre cheaper than the average price at other stations on Thursday as part of a special promotion. But that deal won't last, and drivers should be aware that they'll probably have to wait at least a half hour to fill up there.

The study information can be found from the CCPA's website:
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/

To find out how much you're being cheated on gas, try the gas gauge calculator:
http://www.gasgouge.ca/

Link to report (pdf):
http://policyalternatives.ca/documents/National_Office_Pubs/2007/Gas_Price_Gouge_2007.pdf

Gas prices across Canada
http://fuelfocus.nrcan.gc.ca/price_map_e.cfm#allprices

So how much should you really be paying to lap up a litre? Here are the figures for various Canadian cities from the Centre's report as of May 8, 2007. They've been calculated using the actual refining margins set in June and July 2005 - right before Hurricane Katrina.

Toronto
Actual Price: $1.02.2
Price Should Be: 87.1 cents
Unexplained difference:  15.1 cents

Vancouver
Actual Price: $1.23.3
Price Should Be: 96.1 cents
Unexplained difference:  27.2 cents

Edmonton
Actual Price: $1.02.4
Price Should Be: 84.2 cents
Unexplained difference: 18.2 cents

Regina
Actual Price: $1.13.9
Price Should Be: 92.1 cents
Unexplained difference: 21.8 cents

Winnipeg
Actual Price: $1.07.7
Price Should Be: 86.8 cents
Unexplained difference: 20.9 cents

London
Actual Price: $102.9
Price Should Be: 87.9 cents
Unexplained difference: 15.0 cents

Ottawa
Actual Price: $1.03.5
Price Should Be: 89.4 cents
Unexplained difference: 14.1 cents

Montreal
Actual Price: $1.10.3
Price Should Be: 96.7 cents
Unexplained difference: 13.6 cents

Saint John, N.B.
Actual Price:  $1.16.7
Price Should Be: $1.00.4 cents
Unexplained difference: 16.3 cents

Halifax
Actual Price: $1.17.4
Price Should Be: 98.0 cents
Unexplained difference: 19.4 cents

Charlottetown
Actual Price:  $1.16.7
Price Should Be: $1.00.4 cents
Unexplained difference: 16.3 cents

St. John's, Nfld.
Actual Price: $1.16.7
Price Should Be: $100.4 cents
Unexplained difference: 16.3 cents

[Fish Assassin]

Drivers had known this for years.  What's particularly irking is politicians not doing anything because they have a vested interest in seeing high prices.

[SnakeRoll]

I don't understand when people bitch about the price of gas and then put the sole blame on the oil and gas companies. It's purely supply and demand. we do live in a capitalistic society. I myself hate paying this high for gas but unless we consume less the price is not going down.
Here is something we should put more pressure on here in canada.... look at the taxes on gas..  something close to 50 percent!!!! That the real crime! The higher the gas prices go the more taxes we have to pay. It's alot easier to adjust the taxes on gas then trying to lower the price on something that's traded on the world's commodity market.

[Fish Assassin]

Supply and demand to a point. How does one logically explain fluctuating gas prices from one hour to another ? I would love to hear the so called experts explain that one.

[BwiBwi]

I don't understand when people bitch about the price of gas and then put the sole blame on the oil and gas companies. It's purely supply and demand. we do live in a capitalistic society. I myself hate paying this high for gas but unless we consume less the price is not going down.
Here is something we should put more pressure on here in canada.... look at the taxes on gas..  something close to 50 percent!!!! That the real crime! The higher the gas prices go the more taxes we have to pay. It's alot easier to adjust the taxes on gas then trying to lower the price on something that's traded on the world's commodity market.

When consumption goes down. Profit goes down.  Price goes up to cover the profit difference.  Consumption goes up, supply gets scarse, price goes up.
Either way price goes up.  

World crude oil price isn't whats raising current pump price.  It's the refineries, and the profit margin increase for the gas companies.
Last year same time, crude was $10 dollars more than what it is now.  But we didn't see 126.9 at pumps.

[Rodney]

Starting riding those bicycles like I have started again folks.

[testo84]

1 of the solution !

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/gallery/050207_TheCostofWar?pg=9

see the one about the car

[BwiBwi]

Bicycles?  Got 1 that can carry 3 kids 

[Rodney]

You ride the bike and make them run behind you.

[dennisK]

I got a call from a friend in Toronto, gas is $1.05.

It's 25% more here in Vancouver.

That has never been so exploitive.

[bcguy]

Actually, too see how bad we get shafted by petroleum companies, all you have to do is look at the margins they keep. We hear, oh a war in a nation, up goes the price, oh, a hurricane in Texas, oh.. a camel farted in Arabia. Sooo if they really had a static margin then the profits would also remain static relative to the cost, yet, what do we hear, once again RECORD PROFITS being posted, profits, not sales revenue, there is a difference, screw this supply & demand crap that we hear spewed. It's all about how much the market will bear, thats it. Do you believe our consumption has increased that much, you need to give your head a shake, we are a nation of sheep, and when we get really, really angry, we write a letter..hahahaha
Besides, here's a question, do you believe that citizens in Saudi Arabia pay the same amount as us, you know,..."market prices"? We produce so much petroleum in this country, we can export it, yet we do not, and will not get the benefits of OUR own natural resources, in fact we subsidize the petroleum industry with tax breaks, accelerated rates of depreciation on capital equipment..etc, etc, etc. the poor, poor corporations, they just couldn't make enough profits to keep operating if we weren't to subsidize their industry, WHAT A LOAD OF S**T!!! and we buy into everything they tell us, I only have one thing to say to anyone that believes any of the crap they spew at us..BAA, BAA

[Fish Assassin]

Starting riding those bicycles like I have started again folks.

Can't carry my fishing equipment on a bicycle.

[SnakeRoll]

one good thing is my stocks portfolia has been great the last couple years.

[Geff_t]

I spend about $120 a week in Fuel I use WWW.GASTIPS.COM to find the cheapest in my area

ouch.

[BigFisher]

I spend about $120 a week in Fuel I use WWW.GASTIPS.COM to find the cheapest in my area

Serves you right for buying that BIG white V8....