Metro Vancouver sets new gas price record and Horgan tries to claim tax is not at all to blame

Gas prices in Metro Vancouver smash through records with drivers paying 200.9 cents at the pump in some areas.

This is the highest price ever recorded in Metro Vancouver, on the regular Vancouver region sees the highest costs at the pump in Canada and some times across the whole continent.

According to the Canadian Automobile Association, B.C. had the highest average price across the country Friday at 186.4 cents per litre.

Gas prices were front and centre in the legislature this week as government leaders debated whether climbing costs were due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict or B.C.’s increased taxation on carbon-based fuels.

Horgan told reporters on Thursday the free market was to blame for record-breaking prices.

“An 18-cent increase in a litre of gas is not about taxation, it’s about uncertainty in the marketplace. It’s about instability as a result of the Russian invasion,” said the premier, claiming the New Democrats have cut back insurance costs for drivers and introduced new rebates.

“Affordability is an issue in a whole bunch of places. We try to address those areas where we can, but gasoline is in the free market.”

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says provincial and federal carbon taxes add $20 to a full tank of gas for the average minivan.

“That would save people a lot of money; $20 is $20. You can make a roast chicken dinner for that. It would go a long way for a lot of families,” said Kris Sims B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

She’s now calling for a carbon tax moratorium.

Premier John Horgan claims to want to help reduce fuel costs and lower living costs for British Columbians and commits to keeping the carbon tax to make sure he’s putting a tax on so called “pollution” for British Columbians to pay at the pump at the expense of other living costs like food or personal safety nets such as emergency savings.

“It’s easy for politicians to declare taxes are the problem. Those taxes go to building the roads, providing the transit, and making sure our infrastructure is as modern as it can be,” said Premier John Horgan.

Canadian Taxpayers Federation spokesperson Kris Sims told Postmedia on Thursday that B.C.’s dual carbon taxes are at the root of rising gas costs.

“Right now, the first B.C. carbon tax is 10 cents per litre of gasoline,” Sims said. “The second carbon tax is a fuel standard regulation that increases the cost of gasoline by roughly 17 cents per litre. By the year 2030, those two combined carbon taxes will cost B.C. drivers more than 50 cents per litre of gasoline.”

Last week, Horgan was asked about increasing gas prices, he said, “I’m certainly prepared to look at any opportunity we have to make life better for British Columbians,” encouraging the use the expensive sub par public transit if people are unable to afford to fill up their tanks because he refuses to drop or pause any so called “carbon tax” to ease the cost of living.

Vijay Muralidharan, senior consultant at energy analytics firm Kalibrate said there is a supply production and storage issue “Refineries are already scrambling to produce gasoline and diesel,” said Muralidharan

Dan McTeague, president of Canadians For Affordable Energy says Canada’s reliance on U.S. refiners is once again a major factor in why Canadian drivers are paying more. “We price all of our fuel in U.S. [dollars]… so that makes the bad situation worse, which is why we’re looking at at least a five to six cents a litre increase,” on top of what we’ve already seen, he said.

So if there is a supply and storage issue and Horgan isn’t willing to cut the so called “pollution” tax on fuel what else is on the table when he claimed anything is on the table? Him pushing for more energy production and allow another refinery or pipeline to be built is out of the question because he is attacking our pipelines to slow them down or have them closed as outlined in the B.C. budget plan.

Crown corporations have resorted to adding fees to cover fuel costs for their fleets. B.C. Ferries implemented a one-per-cent fuel surcharge Tuesday, adding 15 cents for adult passengers and 55 cents for a vehicle, to the cost of sailings.

“When fuel prices are lower, B.C. Ferries passes lower fuel prices on to customers through a fuel rebate. When fuel prices are higher, B.C. Ferries charges a fuel surcharge specifically designed to cover the additional cost,” it said in a news release.

According to Provincial and Territorial Energy Profiles – British Columbia a majority of the gasoline used in B.C. comes through a pipeline from Alberta.

“Most of the gasoline consumed in B.C. comes from Alberta, delivered primarily via the Trans Mountain Pipeline”. Even though there is two refinery’s in B.C., the Prince George (Tidewater) Refinery and the Burnaby (Parkland) Refinery they supply a lower amount to our local economy.

Less than 10% the gasoline consumed in B.C. is imported via ship or barge from the U.S. Pacific Northwest

Dedicated tax

• South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (TransLink)
• British Columbia Transit Authority (BC Transit)
• British Columbia Transportation Financing Authority (BCTFA)

Clear Gasoline Tax Rates per Litre