June 3, 2000 Brace for more gas hikes

By STAFF WRITER -- Canadian Press

MONTREAL (CP) -- Dramatic gas price hikes that hit Montreal this week will ripple across Canada, an official with the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute says.

"The trend will be the same as what we've seen in Montreal this week," said Carol Montreuil, vice-president of the CPPI Quebec chapter.

Montrealers were stunned to see gas prices jump by 10 cents this week, now up to 84.5 cents a litre for regular unleaded. This compares with 74.9 cents in Toronto and 66.9 cents in Vancouver.

Oil companies said crude prices have risen to almost $30 US a barrel, and refineries are working at full capacity.

http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/06_n3.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), June 03, 2000

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Sunday, Jun. 04, 2000

Running on empty

High price of filling up leaves motorists fuming

By CAROLINE MURRAY AND JOHN STEINBACHS -- OTTAWA SUN

Motorists who thought they had it tough last summer didn't realize the worst had yet to come as Ottawa gas prices jumped to more than 75 cents a litre yesterday.

"It's never been this high," grumbled Jean Guilbault, of Ottawa, after pumping as much as he could afford into his fuel-starved car.

"I'm only putting $10 at a time, so that it hurts (the gas companies) a little more," he said.

The Ottawa man isn't the only motorist cruising around the region with a half- or quarter-empty tank. The words "fill it up" are just a memory for many drivers.

"I just put $15 or $20 in at a time and wait for (the prices) to drop," said Matt Kavanagh before zooming away in his gas-guzzling pickup truck.

Nolan Johnson, who depends on his car for his job, said the extra $15 he's spending a week on gas is crimping his lifestyle.

"I have to work hard for my money and these prices are biting into my income," Johnson said. Many consumers have been fighting back with boycotts of the major oil companies or by posting the cheapest prices on the Internet.

Yet the price of fuel is still soaring across the province, nearly reaching 80cents a litre in some cities.

The average price of gas was 75.7 cents in Toronto West and 75.2 cents in Toronto East; 71.5cents in Windsor; 76.6 cents in London; 72 cents in Sudbury; 74.4 cents in Sault Ste. Marie; 79.6 cents in North Bay; 77.7 cents in North Bay; and 73.4 cents Timmins.

"It's outrageous. It's absolutely maddening," Ottawa Centre MP Mac Harb said yesterday.

Harb is calling on the provincial government to quickly draw up legislation that would force all "greedy" oil companies to warn consumers of a price hike.

"They can't keep hitting the consumer without notification," Harb said. But the oil companies continue to insist they're not the ones to blame.

"The markets are at work at making prices higher," Jon Hamilton, spokesman for Petro-Canada, said yesterday.

The petroleum company has started using decals to explain how the money collected from gas sales helps to cover taxes and wholesale costs, Hamilton said.

(end of article)

Site where some Canadians can check out local gas prices on a daily basis:

Gas Tips

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), June 04, 2000.