St-Cyr denounces oil companies

Unfortunately for the political party and for consumers in general, bill C-454 was rejected by both the Liberals and Conservatives. The Bloc Québécois nevertheless launched an information campaign to make people aware of the measures that the government has to adopt to stop the increase in the price of gas.

“Since this year started, the price of gas on the average has gone from $1.08 in January to $1.28 in April and finally to over $1.40 this summer”, said Jeanne-Le-Ber MNA, Thierry St-Cyr.

“The companies are raking in exorbitant profits at the expense of consumers who have obviously been taken hostage by the industry. That can no longer continue, it’s totally unjustified and people must act,” he declared.

The organism L’Essence à juste prix is participating in the Bloc Québécois’ awareness campaign and is clamouring for a much improved law on competition within the context of draft bill C-454.

“The investigation launched by the Competition Bureau which led to the accusation of a certain number of individuals and oil companies last month demonstrates that there is collusion – a conspiracy - between certain groups for price fixing,” said Frédéric Quintal, spokesperson for the organism.

“This affair mirrors the limited powers of the Competition Bureau and we are pleading in favour of the Bloc Québécois’ draft bill C-454 which will provide the Bureau with better resources so that it doesn’t have to wait for a complaint before it initiates an investigation”, he continued.

Note that without a formal complaint filed for dubious practices, the Bureau cannot initiate an investigation for purposes of filing charges against those who are guilty. Observations in the field are not sufficient grounds to start an investigation.

“An investigation can be initiated and carried out only with information supplied by informers, by searches and by phone tapping”, he added.

”The Conservative government, like its Liberal predecessor, persists in granting unjustified advantages to oil companies who are enjoying phenomenally reduced taxes. Why should taxpayers have to pay for these totally unfair advantages and still suffer price increases at the pump?,” was the question raised by Frédéric Quintal.

Jeanne-Le-Ber MNA Thierry St-Cyr believes that gas and oil prices will impoverish the Quebec people and will also entail the province’s resources to be transferred to oil-rich provinces like Alberta.

“There is every reason to include all revenues earned in the fiscal equalisation payments programme, given that the present situation is absolutely indefensible. While Quebec has to pay for each kilowatt of electricity – a clean form of energy that it produces – half of the revenues coming from oil sands and the Atlantic’s ore deposits are however excluded from the fiscal equalisation payments programme. That must change”, he said.

The spokesperson for L’essence à juste prixmoreover supports the proposal of the Bloc Québécois to diminish the dependence on oil so that the industry can be collectively challenged – an industry characterised by “greed, pollution and endless profits.”

“In Canada, the Conservative government has both feet stuck in the asphalt. As for consumers, they have had enough in seeing governments on all fours trying to satisfy the oil magnates. There are alternatives to the use of gas. One of these alternatives consists in encouraging manufacturers to build vehicles that would use less gas. Another alternative is to promote the development of energy and clean modes of transportation”, the MNA for Jeanne-Le Ber concluded.