Mr. Speaker, on budget day Canadians will be preparing themselves for another tax increase on gasoline prices.
The Liberal government will take the responsibility of justifying these high taxes to Canadians. However consumers have already had to deal with many increases in gas prices when oil companies hiked the prices at the pumps for no reason at all. These increases are invisible taxes on consumers by the multinational oil companies and have not been justified.
The Liberal government not only condones this price gouging but encourages it. In a recent report the Bureau of Competition Policy has said that oil companies can charge whatever they want for gasoline.
Canadians need an energy pricing review commission with the power to investigate gas price increases and when unjustified roll them back. I challenge the Liberal government in the upcoming budget to get out of bed with the oil companies and give consumers a fair deal by immediately setting up an energy price review commission.