Gas prices jump 11 cents in Greater Victoria, more price hikes expected
If you are planning on hopping in your car and travelling this summer, it’s going to cost you a lot more than it would have on Monday. The price at the pump has jumped by 11 cents a litre in Greater Victoria.
Chris Pahl was filling up his new SUV at a local gas station on Tuesday.
“When I filled this last time, it was under $70," said Pahl. "It’s $85.50 today."
In Greater Victoria, drivers are now paying $1.62 a litre.
“It’s gouging,” said Fred Kirke, who was filling up on Tuesday.
“It’s definitely a bummer,” said Kelly Beattie, who was in a similar position.
“Why are we paying $1.62 a litre?” said island resident Brian MacDonald. “It’s crazy.”
Dan McTeague is the president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, and he says he can explain the reason for the huge increase.
“We’re seeing a response to a shutoff of a FCC -- fluid cat cracker is the technical term -- at the refinery at Phillips 66 in Ferndale (Wash.),” said McTeague.
According to McTeague, that shutdown in Washington state has created a supply crunch in the Pacific Northwest. All the while, demand for fuel south of the border is ramping up.
“It may seem like we are not out of our lockdowns yet, but they are in the United States and their economy is revving up, as is demand,” said McTeague.
If an 11-cent jump hasn’t gotten you down, maybe this will. In April of last year, the price of gas on Vancouver Island was 84 cents a litre. That was when we were heading into the thick of our COVID-19 restrictions.
Kris Sims is the B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, and she has done some math. She says 162.9 cents a litre can’t be blamed completely on the refinery’s shutdown.
“Sixty-one cents of that is taxes,” said Sims.
We pay a provincial excise tax, a federal excise tax, and in Victoria we pay a transit tax and sales tax.
“And of course here in British Columbia we have two carbon taxes,” said Sims.
Eye-popping gas prices in B.C. are not a new issue.
“Clearly there is something wrong with the gas market here in British Columbia,” said Premier John Horgan in November 2020.
In 2019, the province completed an inquiry into gas prices in the province. The reports findings questioned the competitiveness of the gas market and also determined that B.C. drivers likely overpaid nearly half a billion dollars for fuel. The review was told not to look at provincial taxes.
CTV News reached out to the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation but did not get a response by deadline on Tuesday.
Looking into the future, brace yourselves. Analysts predict another three-cent jump by Thursday, and gas could reach 170 cents a litre by the end of summer.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.