Thank you, Mr. Chair.
On the issue of the cause of gas prices, we're hearing that Canada's price is relatively low. Some would argue that the price should even be higher. I think the difference is that rather than having a higher price, which some countries do, and having that money invested in green solutions--alternative energy sources and other things, to offer alternatives to people--the price here is set privately and the profits are going to private interests. We are the second largest supplier in the world, and the impact is huge on all aspects of our economy.
I was quite struck recently to learn that an airline, Jazz, is going to abandon having life jackets on their flights because of the cost of fuel. So if there's an emergency, “hang on to your seat ” is basically their message.
So there's a real concern about the total impact of these prices on the economy, and a fear and a sense by consumers that they are getting gouged.
Prices pretty much track crude costs, normal refining costs, marketing margins, taxes, etc. But every so often there are periods when prices spike. One study I read said that every additional penny per litre above the normal costs of marketing, etc., generates $1 million for the industry from gasoline sales alone. Sometimes it can go up to tens of millions of dollars a day, just from the price of gasoline.
Mr. Boag, are oil companies gouging Canadians by having prices higher than the costs that could be attributed to crude, refining, taxes, and normal marketing and profit costs?
