WINNIPEG – As Joe Janakovic looks up admirably at his 4×4 International Crew Cab, he realizes it’s not practical for running errands around the city. And with diesel gasoline at 120.9 cents per litre, he only pumps half a tank.
“If it drops to a quarter (tank), it costs me $240 (to fill).”
120.9 might seem like a discount compared to the 135.9 cents per litre Winnipeggers find themselves paying as of Thursday. The price of regular gas jumped 13 cents in 10 days at most stations.
“I put in $60 and probably won’t even get half a tank,” said Mary-Ann Parisian gassing up at Shell on Notre Dame Avenue.
Small businesses, which rely on gasoline for primary transportation, are also feeling the pinch.
“My fuel charge is not incorporated in the price but I find now I’m going to have to start doing that so I can compensate for the price of the gas,” said Dave Price, owner of A-plus-A Canadian Professional Moving.
“I have to sit down and revamp my delivery prices according to the fuel prices because it’s really hitting my pocket.”
Get daily National news
It’s not just Winnipeg feeling pain at the pumps. Regina and Saskatoon are also seeing many stations at the same price. Drivers on the prairies are even more for gas than the average in Toronto (128.9/litre).
Industry analysts say the explanation is simple: maintenance issues at a Suncor refinery in Edmonton.
“It’s very difficult to bring product into the region because everything is constructed to flow out of the region so when there are issues there typically is an increase in wholesale price. And that’s what we’ve seen. The price of wholesale gas in Winnipeg has went up 16 cents in the past few weeks and that’s reflected in the retail price,” said Jason Parent, Senior Associate with M.J. Ervin & Associates.
While consumers are begrudgingly buying gas, they aren’t buying the explanation.
“They know it’s a necessity. Everybody who needs a vehicle needs gas,” said Curt Sovak, who drives a mid-size Mitsubishi.
“They’ve got us right where they want us.”
Critics aren’t buying it either, calling the sharp increases a classic example of ‘profit taking’.
“(Oil companies say there’s) tightness in supply or refineries are out. The fact that all these should happen at the same time is, to say the least, highly suspicious,” said Dan McTeague, founder of tomorrowsgaspricestoday.com.
In the United States, lower taxes keep prices attractive. On Thursday, the price per gallon at Neche, North Dakota was $4.28 per gallon. Converted to price per litre, regular gas equals out to 116.9 per litre. The difference is about $13 per tank on an average full size car (60 litres).
Experts say Canada would benefit from adopting a system similar to the U.S. where refineries are required by law to publish their weekly oil output
“It doesn’t look good on anybody to see these kind of price spikes with very few explaining why and then only a few explaining after the fact,” said McTeague.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.