The Eastern Townships is experiencing record breaking gas prices with numbers spiking to $2.15 a litre in most municipalities. Daniel McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, a non-profit group that informs Canadians on the benefits of affordable energy and that creates policies in support of it, said that there are various reasons contributing to the rapid increase in gas prices. He expects prices to continue to spike throughout the summer.
“It has a lot to do with what Canada is not doing. People think this is a global phenomenon and that is true, except when it comes to natural gas and oil. We have one of the largest reserves in the world. The problem is, we can’t get it to markets,” said McTeague.
McTeague explained that it all comes down to the idea of eliminating the use of fossil fuels in the country.
“Why do we block pipelines? There is a number of reasons for it. British Columbia, Quebec, and many within have waged a very successful campaign to stop these things from happening because their concern is that somehow, Canadian oil would lead to greater emissions, which in turn would change the climate,” he said.
McTeague noted that Canada still needs fossil fuels and natural gases for industry to thrive and that the federal government needs to find balance between its climate responsibilities and its responsibility to ensure energy security.
“We’ve gone too far down one road. The narrative has always been green, climate change, we’ve ignored the fact that going down this road too quickly, as Europeans have demonstrated, brings the world closer to energy insecurity and global insecurity,” he emphasized. “All these things suggest that maybe we need to slow down the pace, and by pace I mean that the technology is not there to displace. We still need fossil fuels like it or not.”
The increase in gas prices also has a lot to do with demand exceeding the oil supply that is available.
“Refiners are shutting down, there have been three of them. The Come By Chance Refinery here in Eastern Canada, one I helped save back in 1999 when I was a Member of Parliament (MP), we have two in the United States, Eastern Seaboard and the Philadelphia Energy Solutions that shut down after a fire and never reopened,” explained McTeague. “(…) What this means is that while demand remains static and strong, even at these prices, the supply just isn’t there."
With the summer season coming up, McTeague mentioned that the situation has become worrisome.
“We are now looking at a scenario where yes, Canada starts its official launch of the summer driving season, but there is universal concern that the inventory storage of gasoline to get us through this higher demand period just isn’t there,” said McTeague. “So, there is a real scramble to get product and to do that prices have nowhere to go but up.”
McTeague added that cities and municipalities play a large role in alleviating the stress of high gas prices on it citizens as it is they who add taxes to the original wholesale price that gas stations are provided from the United States.
“If you think here, at this time last year in the Eastern Townships, prices were about $1.30 a litre and now they are $2.15. You can see where this 85 cents, multiplied by 15%, leaves the provincial government with pretty fast converse,” mentioned McTeague. “I think that’s an area where the provincial and federal government can work together to provide relief.”
McTeague has created a website to help Canadians budget their gas consumption.
For more information on Canadians for Affordable Energy.
Listen to the full interview below: