With higher gas prices.

[Big Blue Machine]

Shut up, and stop driving so much. Or buy a smaller car. Don't panic, part of the reason that gas is so expensive is that, when there is a hint of gas going up, everyone panics and buys the gas at the price there is, if everyone did that, then the price would go up. Also stopping using the car so much, plan your trips out. Do many things in one trip. Like say don't go back to Sobeys for one bag of potato chips. Go for a walk.

But what the oil companies is doing is dumb. The government should law-suit against them. And for an extreme tax their 'wind-fall' profits. They are taking advantage of unforunate situations. They know they have enough gas for a long time.

[Canuck E Stan]

How come the panic only occurred in Southern Ontario and east?

Everywhere else people seem to have a grip of the situation.

Talk to your local retail gas station for the reason for this panic.The gas companies didn't authorize these stupid increase.

[Cartman]

Shut up, and stop driving so much. Or buy a smaller car.

Pretty good advice if you ask me. Quite a few Canadians could probably use the extra exercise anyways.

[kimmy]

How come the panic only occurred in Southern Ontario and east?

Everywhere else people seem to have a grip of the situation.

Talk to your local retail gas station for the reason for this panic.The gas companies didn't authorize these stupid increase.

Indeed; I was watching for it today here in Edmonton. I fully expected consumers to swamp gas-stations in anticipation of forthcoming Toronto-like price-hikes. It didn't happen. Consumers didn't swamp gas stations. Prices didn't rise. Had the gas-companies' supplies of ready-made excuses (futures market, refining capacity, supply shortages...) had an iota of truth to them, wouldn't prices here in the Big E be headed in the same direction? A quick look at the chart...

http://www.edmontongasprices.com/

...says "eh-eh." So what happened back east? The abnormal market conditions created by the big hurricanes this past month has exposed some even more abnormal pricing behavior by the gas companies.

Yes, yes. I know that it's a free market and they're able to charge any price they feel like. But when all the prices mysteriously leap up at the same time for reasons that obviously aren't a result of anything on the supply side, doesn't that raise the spectre of collusion?

-k

[Big Blue Machine]

But your gas prices will always be lower than ours because you don't have any taxes on gasoline. Where I live, the price is about 1.05 dollars. Remember when 80 cents a litre was a huge deal?

What do you think of my tax/law suit idea?

[cybercoma]

This may sound crazy, but a gentleman I know mentioned the following.

After hurricane Katrina there was a large spike in gas prices, even though the flow of oil was interrupted for only 5 days. This mysterious leap in the price of fuel doesn't have anything to do with the crude oil price, because that hasn't changed. The industry claims it only makes a couple cents on each litre of gasoline sold, so who is profiting from gas?

The government makes a huge profit from the sale of gasoline. When gas was 97.8 cents/litre back in August, the federal government was making 16.4 cents/litre on every litre of gasoline sold.

Why the dramatic increase, what has happened that the government here and in the US would need all this extra cash? Hurricane Katrina.

Not because it damaged oil wells and refineries, because the governments needed a ton more money to spend on the relief effort and they needed it immediatly. The fastest way for the government to generate cash is from the taxes on gas and consumers are so easy to manipulate (as we've seen the last couple days).

This guy I know claims the federal government got on the phone with the major players in the oil industry and said, "we need money for hurricane relief, would you mind raising the price, so we can make a little cash off the taxes? Oh and show up in Ottawa on Thursday next week, we'll put on a little hearing to appease the people."

So the gas industry raised it's prices and the government all of a sudden found a bunch of money in their bank accounts to use towards hurricane relief. Now everyone wants that same government, who profits from the higher gas prices, to go out and investigate these oil companies for fraud, etc. That's like having your children look after the cookie jar.

The only serious hope we have of lower gas prices is by demanding taxes on gasoline be reduced or eliminated.

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear kimmy,

But when all the prices mysteriously leap up at the same time for reasons that obviously aren't a result of anything on the supply side, doesn't that raise the spectre of collusion?

Of course there is collusion, but if someone does't fink on the others, they all get to 'get richer'. With the excuses given, you'd think that costs must have soared, and they all put up the prices just to maintain previous levels...but only profits have soared, billions for each company...if there was a true 'free market', why wouldn't someone try to undercut the competiton (especially if the profits are huge, there would be room to do this), rather than have their prices marching in unison?

[Riverwind]

Of course there is collusion, but if someone does't fink on the others, they all get to 'get richer'.

If you go shopping for electronics at most retail outlets you will the best selling items for exactly the same price. If one retailer puts an item on sale the others will follow. When it goes off sale the others will return their prices to the original. Is this collusion or just extremely efficient free market competition? That is what is going on in the retail gas industry: every station is watching every other station and they react immediately to price changes in their competitors - up or down. So some gas stations tried to make a few extra bucks by suckering consumers into believing there was an imminent shortage. The appropriate response would be to never buy gas at those stations again.

[cybercoma]

only profits have soared, billions for each company...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And tax revenue.

[Big Blue Machine]

Plus, its the gas stations too that are corrupt.

[fellowtraveller]

At the bottom of this vast conspiracy we'll find somebody who looks exactly like Chuck Guite.

[Canuck E Stan]

...And a tear in his eye like Paul Coffin.

[Canuck E Stan]

Canadian gas panic runs down

"However, as federal Competition Bureau deputy commissioner Richard Taylor observed: "Price gouging is not illegal."

Prime Minister Paul Martin promised Friday that the federal Liberal government will be vigilant on behalf of consumers, but outlined no specific measures.

"We are going to do everything possible to ensure there is no gouging at the pumps," he told the media in Sydney, N.S. "We are monitoring the situation very closely and will continue to monitor it very closely."

Great news PM is is going to do everything to ensure there is no gouging at the pumps,but didn't outlineany specific measures.

And Dick Taylor says "Price gouging is not illegal"

Don't you feel better about gas prices already?

[B. Max]

Shut up, and stop driving so much. Or buy a smaller car.

Pretty good advice if you ask me. Quite a few Canadians could probably use the extra exercise anyways.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah it's about twenty two miles to work. By the time i get there it should be just about time to turn around and head for home.

[geoffrey]

Start a gas station if you think price gouging is happening, and charge your dramatically lower price. You'd make a killing, or perhaps you'd be stuck charging the same price.

If there is any chance at all, which I don't think there is, it is the oil companies gouging and not the retail outlets.

Seriously, just deal with it, commodities go up and down in price. I'm sure we'd all love to afford to drive cars but it isn't sustainable and therefore some have to go without. Simply isn't enough gas.

[Minimus Maximus]

Start a gas station if you think price gouging is happening, and charge your dramatically lower price. You'd make a killing, or perhaps you'd be stuck charging the same price.

If there is any chance at all, which I don't think there is, it is the oil companies gouging and not the retail outlets.

Seriously, just deal with it, commodities go up and down in price. I'm sure we'd all love to afford to drive cars but it isn't sustainable and therefore some have to go without. Simply isn't enough gas.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Geoffrey, The problem isn't a "lack of gas", it is a lack of refining capability. Refining capacities are kept artificially low to keep prices artificially high.

Refining capability has not changed a great deal over the past 10-15 years and China and India are increasing consumption hourly, thats 2 billion more consumers coming on line wanting a piece of the action.

I said this in another thread, but aill say it again. You have 10 potatoes and a thousand Irishman with a million dollars each. Do you think that the potatoes will be sold for what we would veiw as a fair market price?