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| Is it is a good idea to fix the price of gas? |
| Yes |
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| Total Votes : 4 |
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laogaiguk
Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea
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 Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 4:31 pm Post subject: N.B. gas stations turn off pumps |
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N.B. gas stations turn off pumps
I don't know, I just don't think this is the best way to go about it. Too many problems can arise from this. What do you think?
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N.B. gas stations turn off pumps
Jul. 11, 2006. 04:19 PM
CANADIAN PRESS
FREDERICTON � Some motorists across New Brunswick had to search for gas Tuesday after almost 100 independent gasoline retailers turned off their pumps for several hours to protest against gulation.
Service station attendants told motorists they had no fuel to sell, or that they couldn't afford to sell it at the regulated price set by the province's Conservative government when regulation came into effect on July 1.
"I'm just getting ready to go on vacation today and we're hearing this could be across the province," said Carmella Hill as she was turned away from an Esso station in Fredericton.
Some stations that remained open had lineups because of vehicles diverted from other locations.
Kevin McCann, the New Brunswick sales manager for Wilson Fuels, said independent retailers operating under the Ultramar, PetroCan, Shell, Esso and Wilson banners took part in the protest.
Most had begun pumping gas again by mid-afternoon.
Angela Andrews went to three gas stations in Fredericton before finding pumps that were working.
"I think the government should let the gas stations set their own price, if they want to raise it or lower it," she said.
The province set a maximum price of $1.12 a litre, but has allowed retailers to add a couple of cents to cover transport costs.
However, the retailers say the government has done nothing to ensure there is a profit margin when refinery and wholesale prices rise.
The formula used to set the price allows for a six-cent-a-litre profit margin for wholesalers and five-cents-per-litre for retailers.
McCann said there's not a lot of choice when there are only two refiners in the Maritimes.
"You've got Esso or you've got Irving, and guess what? Their pricing is virtually the same," he said.
Energy Minister Brenda Fowlie defended the new regulation system but she also opened the door to possible changes to the legislation.
Fowlie said she's willing to allow the dealers and wholesalers to renegotiate their contracts and profit margin, but it has to stay within the 11-cent range set out in the legislation.
"If the retailers and wholesalers feel they can't work within their margin percentage, one or all could make application to the Public Utilities Board, and if they were successful it would apply to all wholesalers and retailers in the province," she said in St. John, N.B.
But McCann said the minister is starting with the wrong reference point because the government uses the benchmark price of oil sold in New York when setting the maximum price for gas in New Brunswick.
"She's using New York Harbour, and we don't buy New York Harbour, and none of the other wholesalers in the province buys New York Harbour, they buy off the Saint John rack, so that premise is out the door even before we get started," he said.
The New York price is about 3.3 cents a litre lower than the Saint John rate.
The Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island government's also use the New York rate to set their regulated prices, but McCann said both have set maximum pump prices at about $1.15 a litre.
"That extra 2.5 cents goes a long way in this business," he said.
The federal Liberals consumer affairs critic said Premier Bernard Lord should be lobbying Ottawa for changes to the Competition Act because there are only two wholesalers in the province.
"With a dysfunctional gasoline market in which one or two players basically control the price at wholesale you have a very serious situation," said Dan McTeague, an MP from Ontario.
"They inflate the refinery price and they compress the retail price to such an extent that the retailers go out of business."
Meanwhile, Tom Adams of the Toronto-based research group Energy Probe said the government can't ensure lower prices for consumers in the long term through regulation.
"There's nothing that politicians or regulators can do beyond tax relief to change the game," he said.
Rick Brewer, a Liberal member of the legislature who leads an Opposition task force on petroleum pricing, said the province rushed regulation without weighing all the possible repercussions.
"The premier said that if this didn't work he would pull the regulations back off the table," he said. "How long will the premier make New Brunswickers suffer by not getting a commodity like gasoline, which is a necessity today."
Gas prices in New Brunswick are about the middle of the pack in Canada.
According to the weekly survey of pump prices by M. J. Ervin and Associates issued on Tuesday, the highest prices was in Whitehorse at $1.22 per litre.
The lowest price was about $1 per litre in St. Catharines, Ont. |
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Octavius Hite
Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Location: Househunting, looking for a new bunker from which to convert the world to homosexuality.
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| Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 5:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Its a stupid idea because fixing the price of gas means that we are not paying the actual price of gas. This is bad for the environment and bad for global politics. Without a carbon tax or similar plan the only incentive for people to drive less or buy hybrid (and eventually hydrogen or electric) cars is through higher gas prices. In terms of global politics this is bad because we get used to cheap gas and then decide that we need to attack someone to keep the gas cheap (where have we seen that before???) is how that usually ends. |
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Ilsanman
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Bucheon, Korea
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| Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 6:02 pm Post subject: yes |
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Raising the price has little to no effect on how much people drive.
Even though our oil supply has no problem at this time, they site a war halfway across the world, and raise our prices. Because, you know, we are part of the 'global economy', so we get jewed.
Prices need to come down. This is not a matter of supply and demand. It's a matter of oil has become a necessity, and we can't live without it. |
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Octavius Hite
Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Location: Househunting, looking for a new bunker from which to convert the world to homosexuality.
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| Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 6:29 pm Post subject: |
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Ilsanman wrote:
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| Raising the price has little to no effect on how much people drive. |
I totally disagree, while small increases don't affect driving habits over the long term high gas prices will affect consumers choices on what to car to buy and where to drive. For example more people will buy more fuel efficient cars thus saving the environment and driving the market for zero emmissions vehicles. Also people will choose to make less quick trips in favour of longer bigger ones once a week say for grocieres. The fact is that since the second world war we have not been paying the real price of gas (the cost of pollution, war, civil strife, overseas military adventures, human lives etc), in Europe they pay super high gas prices and still the society manages to move forward. People on the east coast of Canada have to accept that they now have to start carpooling and taking the bus and then the politicians will follow and start making those services availble. |
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laogaiguk
Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea
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| Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 6:56 pm Post subject: Re: yes |
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| Ilsanman wrote: |
Raising the price has little to no effect on how much people drive.
Even though our oil supply has no problem at this time, they site a war halfway across the world, and raise our prices. Because, you know, we are part of the 'global economy', so we get jewed.
Prices need to come down. This is not a matter of supply and demand. It's a matter of oil has become a necessity, and we can't live without it. |
"jewed".  Look, I ain't no PC moron with an insecurity complex which needs to be satiated by no one ever pointing out all of my flaws and insecurities, but some things are just universal. "Being jewed" would be one of those no-nos. |
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huffdaddy
Joined: 25 Nov 2005
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| Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:32 pm Post subject: Re: no |
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| laogaiguk wrote: |
| Ilsanman wrote: |
Raising the price has little to no effect on how much people drive.
Even though our oil supply has no problem at this time, they site a war halfway across the world, and raise our prices. Because, you know, we are part of the 'global economy', so we get jewed.
Prices need to come down. This is not a matter of supply and demand. It's a matter of oil has become a necessity, and we can't live without it. |
"jewed". Look, I ain't no PC moron with an insecurity complex which needs to be satiated by no one ever pointing out all of my flaws and insecurities, but some things are just universal. "Being jewed" would be one of those no-nos. |
But what if one of your students said "jewed" in the classroom?
And no, I don't think gas prices should be fixed. There are many reasons why this is wrong. Some of which hasve been touched on, and others which haven't. |
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Octavius Hite
Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Location: Househunting, looking for a new bunker from which to convert the world to homosexuality.
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| Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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huffdaddy wrote:
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| But what if one of your students said "jewed" in the classroom? |
I would show them pictures of animals in cages, of course!  |
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laogaiguk
Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea
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| Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:49 pm Post subject: Re: no |
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| huffdaddy wrote: |
| laogaiguk wrote: |
| Ilsanman wrote: |
Raising the price has little to no effect on how much people drive.
Even though our oil supply has no problem at this time, they site a war halfway across the world, and raise our prices. Because, you know, we are part of the 'global economy', so we get jewed.
Prices need to come down. This is not a matter of supply and demand. It's a matter of oil has become a necessity, and we can't live without it. |
"jewed". Look, I ain't no PC moron with an insecurity complex which needs to be satiated by no one ever pointing out all of my flaws and insecurities, but some things are just universal. "Being jewed" would be one of those no-nos. |
But what if one of your students said "jewed" in the classroom?
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Trying to get some ammo for another thread, eh?
I would say in North American society(I am assuming others too), that word has been deemed bad and that you shouldn't use it as it would probably offend people. Same goes for the f-word, or the c-word, etc. It is an ignorant word. Whether it's true or not doesn't matter. If I think it is racist or not doesn't matter. I would be explaining exactly how the word is seen to English speakers, which currently is not good.
Nice try there huffy, luckily I am much brighter than your posts make you out to be!
For anyone who doesn't understand, check out this thread on ethics in the classroom |
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