Another price hike at the pumps
Posted Apr 4, 2012 04:39:14 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Drivers in much of Ontario and Quebec are wondering why gasoline prices have jumped by about 4.5-cents a litre.
The increase puts the price in the greater Toronto area at $1.40 a litre while prices in the Ottawa are sitting around the $1.35 mark.
Roger McKnight of En-Pro International believes prices could hit record highs near $1.47 by the end of this month.
David Detomasi, an assistant professor of international business at Queen’s University, calls Wednesday morning’s increase “pretty shocking.”
Detomasi says for the most part, there’s no reasonable explanation.
Gas price watcher Dan McTeague says the oil industry usually tries to explain the increase by saying it’s to cover the cost of converting from winter to summer fuel.
McTeague, a former Liberal MP and a harsh critic of the oil industry, calls that a “lame and well-worn excuse.”
He says fuel specifications in Canada, unlike the U.S., don’t change with the seasons.
