Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The consumer protection branch section of MACA is responsible for responding to complaints from consumers about business practices that are unscrupulous or unethical. So far we have not had a direct complaint about gas prices and the possibility being raised by the Member.
Having said that, Mr. Speaker, I am appreciative of the concerns out there. The rising gas prices are a concern. As far as I know, and having done research in this area in my other capacities, the gas price at the pump is fixed. About 85 per cent of that price is fixed by the crude oil price and some taxation by various levels of the government — federal, provincial and territorial. Incidentally, territorial taxes on the fuel have not gone up since 1992.
There is room there where the prices are determined by not just the cost of bringing the fuel up to destinations but by what’s called rack price, where they look at what other retailers are charging. So there is room where the operators seem to decide what the price is that they think they can sell it for.