This afternoon, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said he plans to investigate price fixing in Alberta's resale fuel industry.
In a statement issued by his office on Friday afternoon, the Premier said:
“Alberta’s government showed tremendous leadership on fighting inflation when it eliminated the 13-cent per litre provincial fuel tax on April 1. This resulted in immediate and significant savings for Albertans at the pump, with Alberta having by far the lowest gasoline prices in Canada thanks to the fuel tax cut.
“That’s because gasoline retailers chose to pass these savings along to their customers. However, over the last 10 days, the gas price advantage Albertans have enjoyed relative to other provinces has disappeared and it now appears Albertans are no longer benefiting from the tax cut.
“As I said when we announced this measure in March, we won’t accept any games being played with this.
“First, this afternoon I met with the Canadian Fuels Association to express Albertans’ frustration with recent gas price trends and demand an explanation for why this is going on.
“Second, I will ask the Competition Bureau of Canada to investigate potential gasoline price fixing in Alberta. Under the Competition Act, it is illegal for competitors to mutually agree to set prices. Albertans deserve to know if this is going on.
“Finally, I have directed Service Alberta to explore whether there are any tools we could use under Alberta’s Consumer Protection Act on this matter.
“With Alberta no longer collecting fuel taxes at the pump, Albertans deserve to know why they are suddenly paying as much for gasoline as motorists in Toronto when as recently as two weeks ago they were paying far less.”
In the hours leading up to Kenney's announcement, a litre of regular unleaded motor fuel at Lac La Biche gas stations dropped 20 cents at almost every location. On Thursday, gas was selling for between $1.78 cents per litre and $1.81. On Friday afternoon, prices were near the $1.60 mark. The UFA location in Lac La Biche had the area's lowest pump price at $1.45 on Friday afternoon. UFA locations across the province were the offering the lowest prices for fuel on Friday, ranging between $1.34 per litre in Two Hills to $1.48 in High Prairie
Kenney's statement did not identify a benchmark price he expected to see fuel prices set at, based on the current cost values of the refined product.
Brian Jean in the fuel fight
The very recent price reductions in markets like the Lac La Biche area are too little, too late for a population that is tired of the fuel price mysteries, says Fort McMurray - Lac La Biche MLA Brian Jean. He has already fired shots at the provincial resale fuel industry, making the pricing issue a main platform of his continuing campaign to replace the soon-to-retire Kenney.
On Thursday, Jean said his fight is continuing.
“Inflation is running at generational highs,” he said. “Statistics Canada says that is primarily because of fuel prices. In Alberta, those fuel prices are no longer linked to the global price of oil, or the wholesale cost of fuel and the taxes," he said, making it a goal to introduce legislation that would cap the amount of profit retailers can take on fuel purchaes. "We won’t be able to get a grip on inflation unless we end the gas pump gouging that is driving up transportation costs across Alberta, making inflation worse, and hurting Albertans.”
In some areas of the province, he says, retailers are seeing margins of more than 30 per cent on a litre of fuel, up drastically from historic averages of three to five per cent.
Acknowledging that the current provincial government did create legislation in April to remove as much as 13 cents a litre by suspending the provincial tax levy, he said customers have not seen those savings passed along.
“In the almost three months since then, retailers have raised their margins from 8 or 9 cents per litre to as high as 42 cents a litre at some stations in Calgary last week. The retailers stole Albertans tax cut. That can’t continue.”
The MLA is continuing his campaign to be the next leader of the UCP — a party he helped to create with Kenney during the 2017 leadership race — and continuing to make promises about legislation he will champion if elected.
"I will end gas price gouging in Alberta," he said, explaining the need for legislation that would allow the government to trigger short notice retailer margin caps when those margins substantially exceeded the margins charged in other provinces.
Five Canadian provinces, he said, currently regulate retail gasoline prices.
