At a minimum price of $1.685 per litre, people in the Sydney, N.S., area woke up to some of the highest gas prices in Nova Scotia Friday morning.
The hike had some Nova Scotians quickly faced with difficult decisions.
"Gas prices now are going to be affecting me severely," said Lynn Battiste, an Eskasoni First Nation resident who visits her mother at a Baddeck nursing home as many as four times a week.
Battiste says the drive to see her mother takes about two hours and 20 minutes to get there and back.
Now, she's turning to desperate measures just to fill her tank.
"My husband is collecting bottles and taking them back and forth to get our gas money," Battiste said.
Juanita McKenzie says her vehicle will now remain parked for the most part. Aside from real essentials, she simply doesn't have the money to drive.
"It looks like the only time I'm going to be able to afford to go in town is for a grocery run or an emergency run," McKenzie said. “My husband has been driving my granddaughter to school in the mornings, and that's going to have to come to an end."
Even for many who are staying at home, there is still sticker shock.
Mike Pace, who owns Sydco Fuels in Sydney, says home heating oil currently costs about $1.50 a litre – leaving homeowners with big bills.
He adds with diesel now selling for nearly $2 per litre, it's costing his company more to make deliveries.
"We're all in shock," Pace said. “Every day we come here and we can't believe what happened the night before with the cost of fuel, and we have to pass it on to our customers and that's unfortunate. It's very cold too, so that hurts even worse."
Back in Eskasoni, Lynn Battiste says if gas prices go much higher, she might have to cut back on visits to her mom.
"She expects me to be there. So, it's going to affect her tremendously," she says.
