Petro Canada, Dundas and Clark (Ben Harrietha - XFM News)
Rapidly rising gas prices have made going to the pump a taxing venture for many Canadians.
In London, gas prices are consistently above the $1.45 mark, with some stations breaching the $1.50 and beyond.
Carley Mulligan, a Fanshawe student, says she had around $250 in car related expenses. Half of that was for gas.
“I pay $80 bi-weekly for my lease, so $160 a month. Last month I paid around the same amount for gas.”
She also says that just two months ago, she only paid around $100 for gas.
With the price of gas at the price it’s at, it’s also dissuaded her from using her car for anything other than work.
“Because it’s winter, obviously it’s hard to not use your car. But I definitely think twice about driving.”
Canadians can continue to expect these sort of prices, at least for the foreseeable future, says Dan McTeague, President of Canadians for Affordable Energy.
“If you don’t like current gas prices, you’re probably not going to be very happy to learn that sometime between now and the May two-four weekend, we’re looking at another increase of about 10 cents a litre.”
McTeague added that with the tensions in eastern Europe, where the price of oil, currently at $92 a barrel, goes “anyone’s guess, but $100 a barrel is definitely around the corner.”
Russia is the third largest producer and exporter of oil in the world. In the case of a confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, sanctions would cause the cost of oil to skyrocket, possibly pushing gas to over $2 a litre.
McTeague also says that while things like carbon tax were made with good intentions, they have only made things harder on Canadians.
“25% On every litre you’re facing right now is the green premium. We don’t need it. It’s not going to accomplish anything other than to make a bad situation worse for most.”
He says Canada has already done well with clean energy, citing it’s hydro, nuclear, and natural gas, along with the dropping methane emissions from the oil sands. Affordable energy, McTeague explains, is one of the main reasons Canada has done well as a country.
“Without it, good luck, because for a lot of Canadians, we’re not going to be able to manage well out of this post pandemic period, in terms of our economic growth and our political stability.”
McTeague says that the Federal government has the opportunity to make things easier on Canadians with possible energy rebates, and by “easing up” on climate taxes. Otherwise, party leaders “may find themselves at odds with the very people that will reelect them.”
“This is not the time to be experimenting with green schemes that are driving the price of everything up and potentially the economy into the ground.”
Comments