Canadian drivers looking for some relief at the pumps may have to wait weeks, or months, despite a promise Thursday by the federal government to look into why gasoline prices continue to soar.
Industry Minister Tony Clement said Thursday he will ask oil industry refiners, distributors and retailers to appear before a parliamentary committee to explain their "opaque" pricing methods once Parliament resumes.
"All I know is that prices are going up and down and sideways and no one really knows why," said Clement, standing in the driveway of a suburban house in north Toronto.
On Thursday, motorists in Montreal and Quebec City were paying the most in the country at an average of $1.43 a litre. In Vancouver, the price was $1.40, while Edmontonians were shelling out the least with $1.27. In Toronto, prices dropped by several cents overnight Thursday.
But motorists may never fully learn exactly what controls the fluctuating gasoline prices even when the parliamentary committee meetings conclude, according to the Canadian Energy Research Institute.
The C.R.E.I. also said how much a consumer spends to fill up their car depends on supply and demand, which in part explains why there is always a spike in gasoline prices before a long weekend or during the summer holiday season.
Another expert noted in 2008, when gasoline prices spiked after the price of oil surged to $150 U.S. a barrel, declines in the price of oil did not immediately translate to lower gasoline prices.
She also said the price of gasoline fell only after oil dropped to more than 20% below its peak and had been declining for about two months.
It's a trend that appears to be repeating itself, as the price of oil has fallen from a high of $113.93 U.S. a barrel in the last week of April, closing at $98.21 U.S. on Wednesday, but the price of gasoline rose one cent a litre on Wednesday, to an average of more than $1.30 a litre, according to the price-monitoring site Gasolinebuddy.com.
Meanwhile, the New Democrats say Canadians should not be fooled by the "non-response" by the Conservative government to fuelling anger at the pumps. The NDP proposes an ombudsman should be appointed. The party also wants the competition bureau to be instructed to investigate the relationship between oil prices and the perceived lack of competition in the marketplace.
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