The Real Cause of the High Gas Prices
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Roy Whyte
CDM
Aug 27 2003
With the unprecedented high prices for gasoline at the pump oÂne thing is becoming very evident – Canadians have had enough. Stand around the water cooler and it will not take long before someone mentions the price at the pumps.
Most Canadians will rail oÂn about the taxes and how the oil companies gouge the consumer but they and the media in Canada are overlooking the more important issues and causes for the price increases.
Many Canadians are blissfully unaware that the National Energy Policy has been gutted in the advance of free trade. No longer can Canada try to establish Canadian pricing for oil that is manufactured, refined and sold in Canada. Nope, we ceded that ability when we signed oÂnto NAFTA.
Canada now has little to no control over our own supplies and prices. During free trade negotiations the Mexican negotiators were smart enough to balk at the American proposal to write into law that Canada and Mexico must give them a full two thirds of all of our natural gas production.
So when America continues its greedy use of energy resources, our prices are then pegged to theirs whether we like it or not. When the American summer travel season means millions of gas guzzling SUVs are polluting the earth, you, I and every other Canadian must pay more at the pump because of the increased demand. Never mind that Canada ships some two million barrels of oil a day south; we cannot do anything about it thanks to Mulroney and Chretien.
In 1997 there were 41 large Canadian petroleum companies. Today there are six. Of the 35 that no longer exist, U.S. companies bought out 21. This is a disturbing trend of foreign takeovers of our natural resources. Canadians no longer have a majority interest over our own energy resource base. Where is the media over this issue? Why is it all of this and the NAFTA deal are NOT being highlighted as a major cause of the high oil prices?
Sadly, this is oÂnly going to get worse and never better. As more of Canada’s energy resources are sold off to foreign corporations at 65 cents oÂn the dollar with no democratic oversight whilst being coupled with an ever-shrinking resource, expect higher and higher prices.
Do not go whining to David Collenette, the Federal Trade Minister either. When asked about lowering taxes to help take some of the burden off of struggling Canadians this $130,000 a year man said, “taxes are an inevitable part of life”. Easy to say for you David! How about the all the minimum wage workers who have no other access to their places of work other than their cars? Should they just stop eating perhaps? Maybe they should just stop paying their rents or mortgages? After all the banks will not foreclose when they are making record profits eh David?
So next time you pull up to the pump and feel like you have been robbed, you have been, and your friendly smiling politicians and business leaders made and helped it happen.
Roy Whyte is the Director of WhiteBark Innovations
and edits Canadian Book News
@ August 27, 2003