Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week a number of concerns and questions were raised by Members about the pricing of fuel in the Northwest Territories and the degree of competition in the Yellowknife retail fuel market.
The first step in assessing a situation should be to review the available information. The Department of Finance has compiled information on gasoline and diesel fuel prices in Yellowknife and other major cities in Canada from its own database and from outside sources. Unfortunately, these numbers are not available for heating oil.
The department conducts quarterly price surveys of Yellowknife gasoline retailers as part of its administration of the Petroleum Products Tax Act. These surveys show frequent differences in gasoline prices. In fact, every survey since 1995 has shown price variation among Yellowknife retailers.
Information published by MJ Ervin, an independent company reporting weekly fuel prices across Canada, shows that the difference between Yellowknife prices and Edmonton prices has been shrinking over the past nine years. For the past year the difference has averaged just over 20 cents a litre.
Although transportation is a major reason for the difference, taxes, labour costs, utilities and construction costs all contribute to the difference. These numbers also show that prices in Yellowknife are much less volatile than those in other Canadian locations.
Mr. Speaker, this government is concerned about the cost of living in the North. The cost of energy, including gasoline and heating oil, is an important part of the cost of living. Government regulation of prices makes sense where there is a monopoly, as in the case of electricity, but there is no evidence of lack of competition in the case of gasoline, particularly in Yellowknife.
Later today, at the appropriate time, I will be tabling a document that summarizes this information.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
