QUEEN’S PARK – NDP MPP Jamie West (Sudbury) called on Doug Ford to take immediate action to address gas gouging in Sudbury and throughout Northern Ontario during question period Monday.
“Northerners are coping with one of the highest cost of living in the province. We are seeing higher costs for food, rent, hydro and more. Now, on top of that, people in Sudbury are dealing with another skyrocketing cost - gasoline prices,” said West.
Sudbury drivers are paying some of the highest prices in Ontario for gasoline with regular gas costing as much as $1.86 per litre.
“Drivers are also seeing a 10-cent difference between Sudbury gas stations and those just 45 minutes away from our city,” said West.
During question period, West shared stories of people in Sudbury forced to choose between buying gasoline and groceries, seniors worried about gas prices eroding their pensions, and families struggling to keep up with the costs of driving.
Doug Ford made an election promise in 2018 to reduce gasoline costs in the province, yet today gas prices are higher than ever before. The NDP introduced a bill to end gouging at the pumps at the start of Ford’s mandate, but the Ford government refused to pass it.
“Doug Ford could have ended gas gouging during his first year in office. Instead of soaring prices at the pump, we could have predictable and consistent gas prices, not the steep fluctuations we see today,” said West. “Northerners can’t afford Ford’s inaction on gas prices. When will this government finally protect Sudbury drivers at the pump?”
The NDP’s bill, Fairness in Petroleum Products Pricing Act, 2018, would allow the Ontario Energy Board to regulate the retail price and wholesale mark-up of petroleum products in Ontario, stop the spikes in gasoline prices at the pump, and provide relief and stability to drivers in Northern Ontario and throughout the province.