Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m conflicted about this motion. I appreciate the intent of the motion and I thank Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Menicoche for bringing it forward, but I’m not so sure that regulating our gas prices is what is required. I accept that it’s asking for an investigation, but I am particularly disturbed by the fact that Yellowknife has a gas price that is, give or take, 20 cents more than what it is in Hay River, which is 300, 500 miles away, but that does not, in my mind, explain why we have such a large difference in gas prices. So it’s very perplexing to me and I think that it’s probably more of a “local Yellowknife problem” than it is a territorial problem.
We’ve had evidence of prices going down in Hay River and in Edmonton and prices in Yellowknife staying absolutely the same, and I feel, much as many constituents do, that it’s an unfair situation. I don’t like paying $1.389 for my gas, absolutely not. But I think what is required, perhaps more so than regulation, is that we need to mobilize and consumers need to mobilize themselves. There are a number of things that consumers can do and I think probably the biggest one is certainly, if anybody changes their gas price, go buy your gas where it’s cheapest, but if all the outlets stay the same, which they have done for two years now, then consumers need to complain to the operators, need to complain to the owners. If consumers do not do that then that’s on us because we’re not letting our feelings be known to those that are supplying us with the gas.
My understanding is that it’s, and we will have differences of opinion on this, but there’s little I believe that government can do to force operators to change their prices. I accept that there’s regulation, but I’m very hesitant to suggest that regulation and forcing operators to set their prices is where we want to go.
The other thing that consumers can do that I want to mention is that we do have a Consumer Protection Act and it doesn’t have a lot of teeth in it, but there is a resolution process within that act and if consumers feel so inclined, they can go to Municipal and Community Affairs and they can lay a complaint and it can be dealt with through the
resolution process. I would encourage any Yellowknifers out there who feel that we are unjustly being treated to a high price of gas to take one of the two actions which I have suggested. I won’t vote against this motion but I will be abstaining.