With Northern Ontario residents paying extra at the pumps, Timmins MPP Gilles Bisson is reintroducing a bill to regulate the price of gas.
This morning in Timmins, gas was between 170.6 per litre to 174.6. In the Toronto area, the price is around 150 per litre.
“You can buy a case of beer in Cornwall and pay the same price in Kenora, but you (buy) gas in Toronto at a 1.50 and today you pay 1.70 in Timmins, that just doesn’t make any sense. The public understands that gas companies are taking advantage of the market," said Bisson, who talked about the bill today with NDP leader Andrea Horwath.
The Fairness in Petroleum Products Pricing Act would require the Ontario Energy Board to regulate the retail price and wholesale mark-up of products. It's being tabled at Queen's Park today.
Bisson explained the energy would set a fair price for people to make a return on investment based on the price of oil as it arrives in the Port of New York.
“But return on investment doesn’t mean you should be able to gouge the market and that’s what this bill does. It will allow us to get there in a way that makes some sense,” he said.
Five other provinces have ways to regulate gas prices, according to the NDP.
This is the third time that Bisson's tried to have the bill passed. The last attempt was in 2018.
With an election on June 2, Horwath said the legislation could be passed with unanimous consent before the writ drops.
“Anything can pass on any day, you just need the government to be prepared to support it,” she said.
