Segacs's World I Know

Posts Tagged ‘gas prices’

Our “distinct society” just got a bit distincter, with the introduction of a province-wide carbon tax:

Natural Resources Minister Claude Bechard, who announced Wednesday that a 0.8-cent-a-litre carbon tax will come into force on Oct 1, added that he hopes the oil companies, which are reporting record profits, would absorb the tax and not pass it on to the consumer. Oil industry spokespeople were unavailable for comment late Wednesday afternoon.

[ . . . ]

Asked why he thinks the oil companies will absorb the carbon tax, Bechard said, “Well, we count on the goodwill of the gas companies.”

Hah! Yeah, right. Cause we all know that the gas companies have philanthropy as their main purpose.

This may be a popular move for votes (big bad oil companies versus the underprivileged environment) but people don’t necessarily understand the impact of higher fuel prices. It’s not just SUV owners who get hit; trucks, public transit itself, shipping and the economy in general will all have to pay. The trickle-down effect raises prices on all consumer goods and on cost of living in general.

But of course, our government has a solution for that, too:

Bechard has also threatened to impose a ceiling price on gasoline. Wednesday he said an announcement on that matter would be made in a “few days.”

Right, because everyone knows that what our economy in Quebec desperately needs is more government regulation.

And to think, I was so optimistic after last week’s budget. Looks like that was a temporary blip; we’re back to business as usual in La Belle Province.

• It’s friggin’ freezing out there!!! Remind me again why I choose to live in this part of the world?
• Week before Christmas + SAQ strike = long lineups at the LCBO. On the plus side, LCBOs have great selections that include items like this… and they give you Air Miles. On the minus side, seems I’m supposed to be paying tax to the Quebec government for the booze I bought in Ontario. Yeah, right.
• What logical explaination is there for the price of gas being 15 cents a litre lower in Ontario than in Quebec?
• The map store is awesome. So is the game store. (I’m still accepting soybean donations).
• Chocolate frogs and turtle cheesecake are my new addictions.
• Coffee Coffee Coffee!!!

Gas prices are in the high 90s and have been for a few weeks now. People are starting to adjust. I’ve seen them as high as 99.9.

But I have a feeling we’re not going to see that dollar mark crossed for a while. Why? Because then all the gas station owners would have to replace their big signs with ones that can accommodate 4 digits. And somehow I can’t see them being so anxious to shell out the big bucks that that’s going to cost.

So get used to 99.9 per litre. I think the prices are going to hover there for a while.

Something strange happened today: the price of a litre of gas dropped below the value of the Canadian dollar.

For the first time in I can’t remember how long, the Canadian dollar rose above the $0.70 US mark. At the same time, a litre of gas dropped below the $0.70 Cdn mark to 69.9 at the corner gas station near my house.

Looks like a good time for a road trip to the States!