Mr. Speaker, it would be a very rare day that I would agree with anyone on the government side. However, today, on behalf of my party, I plan to definitely do that.
First I want to speak about my colleague, the hon. member for Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, whose riding is in the beautiful province of Saskatchewan. He has made tremendous efforts throughout his entire political and business career trying to get the gas and oil companies and governments to listen not only to his concerns and those of his constituents, but also to the concerns of Canadians right across the country.
I want to send the hon. member who is presenting this bill today kudos. Although it may not be strong enough, it is a step in the right direction and we compliment him on that.
I will speak as a consumer. I have always believed that the gas companies get away with far too much. They are much too friendly with the government of the day.
My colleague from the Reform Party says that they can look after themselves. Today in Toronto gas prices went up 8 cents per litre, just before the Thanksgiving holiday long weekend. That is an absolute outrage.
There are two people in my riding who have done an exceptional job in trying to focus this issue on the gas companies and protection not only for consumers but for jobs and independent retailers. They are Mr. David Collins, the vice-president of Wilson Fuels, and Mr. John Holm, the MLA for Sackville, which happens to be in my riding of Sackville—Eastern Shore. These two individuals have fought very hard.
I wish to read from a letter that Mr. Collins wrote to my hon. colleague from Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre.
Bill C-235 aims to amend the Competition Act so that all market participants treat Retailers in a fair and equitable way, and ensures that wholesalers of fuel (both Refiners and Marketers who wholesale) market their fuel in a non-discriminatory fashion. Furthermore, Bill C-235 will go a long way towards breaking the oligopolistic practices of the major oil companies, and their efforts at market control through the widespread use of “Zone Pricing”.
The practice of “Zone Pricing” is frequently used to target Independent Marketers by offering certain outlets who are in close contact to Independents preferential pricing. The impact of this preferential pricing technique is to discipline smaller players into price conformance. This is why prices in Canada are routinely uniform through a region.
It is important to note that this is not the case in the United States. The reason for that is simple—the U.S. has many rules, which serve to encourage competition, and hence through the practice of increased competition—a wider choice and lower prices benefit customers. Manju Sekhri will be forwarding copies of the U.S. legislation, which applies to gasoline Marketing in the U.S., and as a comparison what we have in Canada.
We will all be startled by the disparity which exists between ourselves and our free trade partners. This important element between our two countries was left out of the free trade agreement.
I wish to get a little closer to my own riding and deal with the Ultramar plant. In 1990 Ultramar took over the Texaco plant, in the home of Eastern Passage—Cow Bay, with the assistance of provincial and government financing of $50 million. The object of that $50 million was to protect jobs and create competition in the market.
Unfortunately, the deal was for seven years. Ultramar decided in 1994 to leave town halfway through its commitment to that loan. One hundred and sixty extremely well paying jobs were devastated and gone. There was less competition within the area and not once did the provincial or the current government ask Ultramar for any of that money back. It was gone.
To throw salt into the injury, the Economic Development Corporation, which this government tends to lean on quite heavily, insulted workers and families in Nova Scotia. an oil company in the United Arab Emirates came with cap in hand to Canada saying they would like to pick off the finer parts of the refinery and shift it over to their country to create their own employment. That is an extremely wealthy nation. They could have reached into their pockets and paid for it themselves.
What did we do? We gave them $25 million of our tax dollars to dismantle the plant as well as two other refineries in British Columbia to create employment in that country. We continuously destroy jobs in this country. I am ashamed.
As part of the 1990 takeover of Texaco by Ultramar, Ultramar undertook the competition directorate to continue operating an oil refinery in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia for seven years. In 1993 Ultramar further agreed that if it ceased operations it would give the director evidence of efforts to publicly sell the refinery.
In 1994 Ultramar gave notice of its intention to close the refinery. They did not even look for a competent buyer to buy the plant, even though we have record after record showing that there were enough buyers out there to buy the entire plant, the wharves and the docks. Ultramar refused with provincial and federal capitulation. It is absolutely scandalous that this continues. I should also say on behalf of my colleague from Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre that if Bill C-235 does not fulfil all the aspirations of what we are looking for and what consumers are looking for, my hon. colleague also has a bill on the order paper, Bill C-384, an act respecting the energy price commission.
The bill would establish a commission to regulate the wholesale and retail price of gasoline, taking into account both the public interest in having reasonable and consistent prices and the need for manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers to have reasonable costs covered. The commission could also conduct hearings on competition in the oil industry referred to it by the competition tribunal.
In Canada we accept that some prices of goods and services which are central to the economy and often controlled by monopolies or near monopolies ought to be regulated in the public interest. That is true for telephone rates, cable TV and other prices.
I certainly cannot let something like competition go without mentioning the bank mergers. I am hoping that if we cannot get it through on the opposition side a member of the government side will bring in a private member's bill to stop and halt the bank mergers because that also would destroy competition in this country.
Independent gas retailers are small business people who promote competition and keep prices down. But they are vulnerable to the pricing practices of major oil companies. It is absolutely scandalous that this would continue.
Last summer there was a gasoline price war in the city of Moncton where things almost came to blows because gasoline was so low. All it did was be destructive. Although the consumers enjoyed it for a while in the end it was more harmful than it was good.
On behalf of Mike Williams, the head of the Atlantic Oil Workers Union of Nova Scotia, and his 160 workers who have worked so diligently to try to get a bill like this passed, I want to say to the member presenting this bill he has the full co-operation of this union and he has the full co-operation of our party in putting this bill forward.
Mr. Speaker, I wish you and your family, all members and those people in the gallery a very happy Thanksgiving.
