Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise, even at this time of night, to speak about an issue affecting all Canadians, namely the price of gasoline at the pump, which is far too high.
Each of us has seen gas stations on different streets in the same city and noticed how prices are different from one gas station to the next, and from one city to the next, so much so that sometimes a detour is well worth it. We do not understand why gas can cost a few cents a litre less at a gas station than at another one. There are even websites that indicate where gas is least expensive.
All these gas price variations at the pump are due to mismanagement. It is high time the federal government took action to put an end to these price variations. It is time to appoint an ombudsman to protect consumers from gas price variations and to strengthen Industry Canada's rules on collusion.
The NDP believes the federal government has a responsibility regarding the price of gas, which is once again reaching very high levels, as we have seen over the past few weeks.
The government can and must take meaningful action to counter these abusive price hikes. It is high time we stopped getting gouged at the pumps. We have to fill up every week. It is time to put an end to these hikes. People do not understand why the price of gas keeps going up when the price of oil does not change. At nearly $1.50 a litre in many cities in Quebec, including Quebec City, people are saying that they are paying too much. They are right.
I am calling on the Conservative government to follow the NDP's recommendations and create an ombudsman position to monitor gas prices and receive the growing number of complaints from drivers about this. Of course, that would allow us to put more pressure on the Competition Bureau, ensuring that there is more vigorous, aggressive follow-up.
The NDP also suggests that we strengthen Industry Canada's rules, to more effectively combat collusion among oil companies. The existing rules need to be more vigorously applied. It is unacceptable that the Competition Bureau's collusion cases result in sentences to be served in the community or in fines that rarely exceed $10,000. We are talking about collusion here. I think we need to be a lot tougher.
The federal government continues to subsidize the big oil companies and has significantly reduced their taxes in recent years. Meanwhile, ordinary Canadians, the consumers and taxpayers, are being relentlessly gouged at the pumps, which is appalling. Canadians are being hit with a double whammy, because their taxes are being used to subsidize the Conservatives' gifts to the oil companies. That is essentially what is going on.