Proof that gas price regulation works was on display in Nova Scotia today when the Conservative government ordered gas retailers to immediately drop their prices by 8 cents/litre reflecting a sharp drop in market prices for oil late last week. NDP Gas Price critic Gilles Bisson says Ontario drivers deserve the same protection.

“Study after study shows that the big oil companies are ripping-off consumers by jacking up prices because they can - not because it′s justified," said NDP Gas Price critic Gilles Bisson. “Today, the government of Nova Scotia said no to gouging. Its time for Ontario to do the same."

In Nova Scotia, legislation permits the minister responsible for gas price regulation to re-set prices before the usual bi-weekly price setting date if market conditions change suddenly and consumers are in danger of being ripped-off. This provision in the legislation ensures that consumers pay a fair retail price for gasoline.

According to Conservative Nova Scotia Minister Jamie Muir, because of “a sharp decrease in the New York benchmark price for gasoline … we want any reduction passed on to consumers as soon as possible. This is one of the safety mechanisms designed as part of the regulation model, and it's operating as it should under market conditions."

According to the NDP′s Bisson, “This is a practical, sensible, workable way to curb pain at the pumps. It ends gas-price volatility, stops opportunistic price gouging, shrinks regional price differences and delivers fair, predictable and lower prices over the long haul. It′s clear that when it comes to gas price gouging, Dalton McGuinty takes the side of the big oil companies, not the side of Ontario motorists.”

Ontario is the only eastern Canadian province not to have introduced gas price regulation to protect drivers from gouging. Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, P.E.I., New Brunswick and Quebec all have regulation, as do fourteen U.S. states. Organizations representing independent gas retailers across Canada also support gas price regulation.