Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues on both sides of this House for the quality of their debates on this motion which I have the honour to sponsor.
I did, however, have an opportunity to hear a few inaccuracies, and I feel it is important to react to that so that my colleagues across the way and next to us here can be fully informed before they vote.
For example, an honourable colleague from the Conservative party suggested on February 11 that the price of gas, before taxes, had gone up 50%, while there had been a 67% hike in the taxes. Nothing could be further from the truth, as in fact the portion of the gas price that is tax has gone up from 32¢ to 37¢ a litre between February 1999 and February 2005, which is 15%. On the other hand, the price before taxes went from 14¢ in February 1999 to 45¢ in 2005, which is not far off 325%.
Can you imagine that a company like Petro-Canada, once purchased at a high price by Canadians in order to control the market price, took the liberty of increasing its profits between 1998 and 2004 by 3,857%? Profits were $1.89 billion in 2004 compared to $49 million in 1998.
If we consider that a 10¢ hike in gas prices slows down the economy by 0.5%, imagine how much harm that company, which at that time was still government-owned, did to the Canadian economy?
In addition to that, I would point out that the 5¢ increase in taxes is not due to an increased tax rate but to the increase in gas prices before taxes, since the tax rate is fixed but is calculated on a higher amount.
Still on the subject of taxes, I must also point out that, in February 1995, this government inaugurated a 1.5¢ per litre surtax to help defeat the deficit. That deficit was eliminated in 1998 but the surtax is still in place. What is this government, which has surpluses up to its eyeballs, waiting for before it abolishes that pointless and costly tax?
This same colleague from the Conservative Party also stated, and I quote, “the regulation of gasoline prices in Canada can be done at the provincial level” and that “provincial governments are free to regulate gasoline prices”. Nothing, in fact, could be further from the truth, because the component of gasoline prices under provincial jurisdiction is the retailers' profit margin. This provincial jurisdiction has an impact only after the petroleum has been refined and after market speculation on the Nymex. The causes of fluctuations on the Nymex, however, are a matter of federal jurisdiction. Currently, there is no federal agency or other body overseeing the causes of fluctuations in the prices of petroleum products.
The member for Ottawa South cited the 2003 report of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, according to which the current “Competition Bureau [had] sufficient powers, personnel and resources devoted to overseeing competitive aspects of the petroleum industry”
The Competition Commissioner, Mr. von Finckenstein himself, before this same committee on May 5, 2003, pointed to gaps in the current Competition Act, including the lack of investigative authority if he were to do an industry study and the inability to summon witnesses and ensure their confidentiality. I think we must listen to the Competition Commissioner, because he is saying himself that he lacks the power to conduct real studies.
I think that it is also time to put an end to the various myths circulated by the oil companies. It is not the cold temperatures that cause refinery margins to rise, nor is it taxes, nor the situation in the Middle East. These increases have more to do with refining capacity not being adequate for the demand. Some claim that it was limited on purpose in order to raise prices.
That is why it is high time for an independent study, so the public can see the whole question. A monitoring agency would be designed for this purpose and permit better oversight of the industry, which generates profits on the backs of consumers.
In the name of all Canadians, I call on my parliamentary colleagues to support—