Why cheaper gas won’t lower your bills just yet

Drivers are getting some relief at the gas pumps, but rising diesel prices continue to drive up costs across much of Canada. Paul Hollingsworth reports.

HALIFAX - Escalating fuel prices are starting to wear down Halifax commuter Kevin Nickerson. Even as gas prices fall, diesel continues to climb.

Nickerson is still paying a lot, and not just when he fills up his truck.

“I’m paying for heat and hot water because all summer, we are burning fuel and we have the cost of home oil,” Nickerson said. “And I just filled up at this gas station here for $75.”

Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, said the war with Iran continues to squeeze diesel markets, causing global supply and demand pressures.

“It means that diesel, which is the global workhorse for all fuel, is going to remain high in price because there is a shortage,” McTeague said. “Diesel in Nova Scotia is more than $2 per litre and over $2 in Quebec. In B.C., diesel is $2.40 a litre in some places, because of the number of taxes they impose.”

Tourism executive Peter McLaughlin said the tourist season is off to a busy start, but the industry is bracing for the long-term effects of the high jet fuel costs being passed on to travellers.

“That is something we are keeping an eye on” said McLaughlin, revenue manager for Ambassatours Gray Line tour company. “That could in time, discourage people from wanting to continue to travel here.”

As food gets shipped across Canada, diesel prices are being passed from trucking companies to grocery stores, making some food items more expensive.

“In a nutshell, diesel is impacting the ‘P and P’ at the grocery store which is protein and produce,” said Sylvain Charlebois, a professor at Dalhousie University. “Especially in remote areas in the prairies and in Atlantic Canada where everything is trucked in and there is a premium to pay.”

Shopper Niriko Ewing, visiting Nova Scotia from British Columbia, said she feels she has no choice but to pay whatever the cost is for the groceries her family needs.

“We need it, so if we need it, we buy it even if it’s expensive,” Ewing said. “We have to buy it, and I don’t feel like I have a choice.”