Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to speak today about something funny going on at our gas pumps in Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, we know the rising price of gas has been on the national news because the prices keep going up and staying up. But what is an issue for a Yellowknife resident who called me last week is that the gas price went up by six cents per litre one day last week and there should be no reason to. Mr. Speaker, the ice bridge has been out for weeks. We know we have no permanent bridge over the Mackenzie River. This should tell us that the gas at the pumps has been brought here weeks ago if not months ago. So we have to ask why such an increase? We can’t think of any reason other than to say it is just to be fashionable with the rest of Canada. I believe the word we use for that is gouging because it is just for more profit margin on the same old stock.

Mr. Speaker, the question about gouging has been raised in Yellowknife before and it is being raised in the rest of Canada. In the past, the old industry used major natural disasters like Katrina or the ongoing Middle East conflict like the Iraq War, but we haven’t had a natural disaster like Katrina lately and there is no other war in the Middle East, thank goodness for that, but what is the excuse for the latest price hike?

Mr. Speaker, another line by the industry is that we don’t have adequate refinery facilities in North America and they can’t turn crude oil to gas fast enough to meet the demand. Well, is that an excuse or a conspiracy, Mr. Speaker? We know about the gazillion dollars in profits all oil producers make each year. Why don’t they use some of that money to build refineries to bring the price down and create jobs? There has not been a new refinery built in North America in decades. Mr. Speaker, why do they keep allowing all the gas pumps to be built but not enough gas to keep the price down? Mr. Speaker, the last statement I heard from the president of the Petroleum Association based in Calgary on CTV is that he said the prices keep going up. We keep thinking the demands will go down, but that is not happening so the price can’t go down.

Mr. Speaker, so they keep the price high, demand stays high and they laugh all the way to the bank.

Mr. Speaker, may I seek unanimous consent to finish my statement?

Speaker: MR. SPEAKER

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Ms. Lee.

Sandy Lee

Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have to say they surely have us where they want us. They know we can’t make our own gas. Conveniently, every gas station, no matter what name brand except for the Co-op, keeps the price high so there is not even really competition in gas pricing. As the news said, we can continue to suck it up, but I think we should all try to reduce the use of gas so that we could try to make an attempt to reduce demand, but that is not going to happen fast enough. The real action has to come from the government. We need to demand the federal government and all the provincial governments to do something to even the playing field for the hapless consumers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause