Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – The Minister of Energy is relying on an expert to determine the course of action to follow on the high prices of gasoline in the Gaspé Peninsula.

In a report at the end of January, the Energy Board found that the profit margin in the Gaspé Peninsula was approximately 4 cents higher than the Quebec average.

“We discovered that in a few regions including the Gaspé Peninsula, the retail margin seems higher than the whole of Quebec. I asked Robert Clark who is a professor who was affiliated with the HEC (Hautes études commerciales, Université de Montréal’s business school) and who is now in Ottawa, and who did work in the 2000s and discovered that there had been collusion. Robert will help us look at what we could do at the Energy Board to make changes. The Competition Bureau is federal. They have their own environment,” explains Pierre Fitzgibbon.

The minister reiterates that he is not ready to set a maximum price on gasoline. He asked the Energy Board to make access to information more accessible. “We are going to look at whether the concentration of gas stations is too high. Are we going to open up greater competition? Maybe. There is an interesting debate, but the most important point is to disclose the information. We must disclose the profit margins and the price more easily and people will decide where they are going to go,” says the minister

Blue Economy Zone

The minister is not yet ready to announce the creation of the Blue Economy Zone in Grande-Rivière and Rimouski even though stakeholders were anticipating an announcement before the Christmas holidays.
“I think Quebec deserves to have such a zone. Some components are not yet present but we are working to implement them. We funded an operating budget at the Ministry of the Economy to find these winning conditions. I have no announcement planned, but we would like to make one eventually,” states the minister.

The Blue Zone aims to unite and deploy the blue and sustainable innovation ecosystem in Rimouski and Grande-Rivière, by leveraging expertise in marine resource development, maritime engineering and intelligent navigation.