It is a never-ending complaint of Squamish residents that has been ramping up again of late: the price of gas at the pumps in Squamish.
A new Facebook page devoted to bemoaning the price of Squamish gas has been launched in recent weeks at “Squamish Gas Prices.”
A petition started by former council candidate and newly-minted Squamish chamber director Sacha Fabry, called “Gas companies: stop gouging Squamish residents!” on Change.org has netted 290 signatures as of Monday.
On Friday, Squamish stations were selling gas for 135.9¢ per litre — all except the Squamish Valley Gas Bar, which was a penny cheaper.
This was the same price as in Vancouver and surrounding areas, which are subject to the 17-cent TransLink tax, which results in an extra 11 cents a litre in total taxes for our neighbours to the south.
“I think what our citizens are trying to figure out is, if you look at all the provincial taxes that they pay in the TransLink area, it equals 33.28¢. If you look at all the provincial taxes that we pay outside that area, it is 22.28¢,” said Mayor Karen Elliott.
“Someone is profiting from that, and I am really curious about how these companies can justify an 11 cent difference.”
In Abbotsford — an area also outside the transit tax — the price is often much lower than Squamish, hitting 120.2¢ on Friday.
The average was 128.1¢ and 109.9¢ was the lowest price in B.C. — found at a Costco in Prince George.
Elliott said because the stations are private businesses, aside from trying to understand the problem and advocate for the community, there isn’t a lot the District of Squamish can do.
“We really don’t have a lot of influence,” she said. “I would say the people with the biggest influence are the consumers and where people choose to buy gas.”
Elliott acknowledged some locals don’t have a choice.
“For those commuting to the city, they can make a choice. For those buying gas locally, that is much more difficult.”
The Chief reached out to local stations, but were either directed to the company’s head office or were unable to reach an owner.
We contacted the head offices of Petro-Canada, Shell, Husky Energy, and Chevron for comment for this story.
Chevron sold all retail stations to Parkland Industries in 2017, but continues to run the stations as Chevron under a branded marketing agreement. Parkland didn’t respond to our request for comment by press deadline. Shell and Husky also did not reply by deadline.
The Squamish Nation, which owns the Squamish Valley Gas bar also did not respond by deadline.
Petro-Can said they could not comment about individually owned locations, but directed us to Canadian Fuels Association, which speaks for the fuel industry, but they too declined to comment on the situation in Squamish.
“Only about 23 per cent of Canadian gas stations are actually owned and price-managed by refiners — our members — the rest are independently owned, using the brand name, logo, signage, etc., and product under licence,” read an email from the association.
Elliott said contacting the Competition Bureau is one avenue for consumers.
“I think the people of Squamish should inundate the Competition Bureau with complaint letters.”
There is a complaint form on the organization’s website at www.competitionbureau.gc.ca.
The Chief requested the number of complaints filed with the bureau about the price of fuel in our region but was told that information could not be released for privacy reasons.
“As the Competition Bureau is required by law to conduct its work confidentially, I cannot confirm whether or not we have received any complaints related to the price of retail gas in Squamish,” a bureau representative told The Chief in an email.
The Competition Bureau also notes on its website that it isn’t illegal for gas stations to match prices.
“Gas stations typically post their prices on large street-side signs. Since consumers are very sensitive to price, gas stations often strive to meet or beat their competitors’ posted rates so they do not lose customers,” the site states. “As a result, competing gas stations often charge similar or identical prices. Charging the same price is not illegal unless competing gas stations reach an agreement to do so.”
The site also notes that stations in cities usually sell more gas, which means they can charge less per litre and still make a profit.
But, if as a society, our aim is to move quickly away from fossil fuels, shouldn’t we cheer at the higher price of petrol?
Elliott says no.
“The fact of the matter is, it is going to take everyone a while to transition and often the people who can absorb those fuel taxes are the wealthy. It is the everyday working person as their costs are going up that finds this really frustrating,” she said.
“So, yes, we are trying to find alternative forms of transportation in the corridor by focusing on regional transit... but until we see more incentives from [federal and provincial ] government to bring down the cost of electric vehicles, until we see a bigger investment in other forms of transportation... people are stuck driving their cars and I can understand why they are frustrated.”