Currently, while drivers in the Sea to Sky are paying gas prices hovering at about 121.9 cents per litre at Squamish gas stations, in Vancouver drivers are paying 109.9 cents a litre and those in Abbotsford pay about .99 cents.
Is this an example of locals getting gouged by our gas stations — during a pandemic?
Not likely, says industry analyst Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy.
"You are seeing many communities across Canada where not everybody is getting the immediate benefit of prices dropping as quickly as we see in bigger cities," he said.
There's a simple reason for that, according to McTeague. In smaller communities, there is less turnover of fuel.
⛽️ Price ⚠️: Vancouver and Lower Mainland #gasprices to FALL 4 cent a litre on Sunday March 22 to a high of only 106.9 cents a litre, with many stations offering gas for under 99 cents a litre ... a first since January 2008
— Dan McTeague (@GasPriceWizard) March 21, 2020
Therefore, gas stations in downtown Vancouver or downtown Victoria might go through 400,000 litres in a day. In other smaller communities, they may be lucky to go through 10,000 litres, McTeague said.
It is easier for a city gas station to go through all its inventory and be able to pass on the current decreases in fuel prices to consumers, in other words.
It may take a week at a smaller community gas station to get through its inventory, especially with decreased traffic in the Sea to Sky due to the pandemic.
If the stations were trying to match city station prices, they could be selling gas for 105 cents per litre, that they bought for 135 cents per litre, about 11 days ago, McTeaque added.
"It is just a question of how quickly they can get through it," he said, acknowledging that Squamish residents long upset with higher gas prices probably don't want to hear this reasoning.
"People aren't going to be happy with me, but you know what, I am not a politician and I don't work for an oil company," he said.
Squamish’s Colette Fauchon, for one, doesn’t buy it. She has been frustrated with the cost of fuel in the corridor for at least two years.
“Prior to the COVID outbreak, the stations consistently have the same prices, for weeks and weeks,” she said. “With no movement at all, even though Vancouver was lower, even before the COVID outbreak.”
Sea to Sky leaders respond
Sea to Sky MLA Jordan Sturdy, currently the Official Opposition Critic for Jobs and Technology, knows some of his constituents have long been angry about volatile gas prices that seem to spike along the corridor compared with other places, even though our area doesn't pay the Metro Vancouver 18.5-cent TransLink tax.
About a year ago, Sturdy did a four-month survey of prices at the pump in North Vancouver compared to Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton.
(At the time, the Vancouver area's TransLink tax was about 17 cents per litre, it rose on July 1, 2019)
"Last spring... we were .12 to .14 cents less in Squamish," he said, noting he had expected that not to be the case and was planning to go to the Competition Bureau with the "evidence."
"But the data didn't bear that out," he said.
A BC Utilities Commission inquiry, however, found an unexplained 10- to 13-cent-per-litre mark up being charged to drivers in B.C., as a whole.
That adds up to B.C. drivers paying an extra $490 million every year, according to the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.
In response, the provincial government introduced legislation that would force oil and gas companies to turn over their supply and pricing data.
"The gist of the Fuel Transparency Act is that it enables government to demand data, information, records — whatever they want, essentially — from the whole range of the supply chain in order to determine, is there gouging, or not," Sturdy said.
On March 9, the provincial government announced the BC Utilities Commission would be the administer able to request information from oil and gas companies.͞
This step gives the BCUC the power to collect information to hold oil and gas companies accountable,
Sturdy voted for the legislation, though he said he wants to know more about what will be under scrutiny by the administrator.
"The devil is in the details," he said.
"What we were advocating for was that all aspects of the price be under scrutiny in the terms of reference."
“That all aspects of the price was under scrutiny… as in what is the cost of the Low Carbon Fuel standard and how does that factor into things, because it does make a difference,” he said.
The provincial government requires that fuel suppliers progressively decrease the average carbon intensity of their fuels.
“We have one of the unique blends of fuel, so it is going to have an impact on price. What about the impact of various taxes on the cost?”
Sturdy said another issue is that about 20% of the fuel we use in B.C. comes from the two refineries in the province. The rest comes from outside, such as from Washington State and Alberta.
"Is the province of British Columbia in any position to demand documents out of a company from say, Washington State — I wouldn’t 't think it would be."
"My suggestion to people is to inundate [the provincial government] with correspondence," Sturdy said. "You said you were going to do this. You passed a law, we all supported it in the House last fall, so get on it."
Federal response
While the federal government does not have jurisdiction to regulate gas prices, Patrick Weiler, MP for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, said he was aware of the high price of gas in B.C. and Squamish specifically.
“We are therefore pleased the province of B.C. established a commission to investigate the causes of our high gas prices, and has issued a report on such, including recommendations of what can be done to address it. To my knowledge, nowhere are these prices higher than in Squamish,” he told The Chief in an email
Weiler said the federal stimulus package will help alleviate some of the financial stress currently facing Squamish families, due to COVID-19.
The package includes boosting Canada Child Benefit, increasing the Goods and Services Tax credit, support to workers who are not eligible for EI, and the like.
“We understand that Squamish residents are feeling an impact more than ever with the pressure that COVID-19 is putting on families and businesses in the area. For this reason, we are taking strong and quick action to protect our economy, and the health, safety, and jobs of Canadians in any way we can,” he said.
