Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this spring the Department of Infrastructure has changed the pricing for heating fuel, diesel, gasoline and naphtha. Since last month, our communities have seen increases between 4 and 48 percent for heating fuel alone. And diesel price increase between 6 to 41 percent depending on the community. And gasoline saw prices go up between 5 to 33 percent.
The Department of Infrastructure website provides a table of fuel prices by community. Effective May 16, 2022, the price for a litre of gas can be as high as $2.40, the price at Colville Lake, or as low as $1.77 in Tulita.
In my constituent community of Łutselk'e, the price of gasoline went up by nine percent to $1.92 per litre. Heating fuel increased by eight percent to $1.56 per litre.
Mr. Speaker, I want to help and provide some input to look for ways to improve the lives of our people in our communities. Increasing the cost of heating fuel and gasoline does not do that. It does the opposite.
The GNWT now charges customers receiving social assistance and the senior home heating subsidy 13 percent more for heating fuel. The price in Lutselk'e increased from $1.38 and $1.56 per litre.
Mr. Speaker, the price of petroleum products is different from each community in the NWT. Prices have increased for all GNWT customers whether they're government or nongovernment customers.
Communities are hit hard by this increase. It is also a sudden increase and surprise to communities. We just began to adjust after the pandemic measures have been lifted. The prices hit our communities really hard.
Mr. Speaker, our communities did not see this increase coming. Most know that the GNWT resupply their products once a year in the summer.
Mr. Speaker, I ask that we are strategic and more considerate of our communities. Let's not create hardship for our communities where we can be innovative and find more reconciliatory approach.
I firmly believe that we can work together and find solutions that are not putting a hardship on small communities and this might mean looking at mechanisms for subsidized fuel costs. Creating subsidy or enabling contribution agreements between the governments, including the federal Government of Canada, with focused goal to leave money in the communities.
Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Infrastructure later today. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Edjericon. I'm not sure if you were aware but you were cut off through a portion of it so if you could send us your statement, send us an email, and we'll have it printed for Hansard under Rule 10.4(1). Good portion of the middle part of your Member's statement was cut off. So I think the Minister has enough information to go on though. But we'll go from there.
