GASPÉ – The mayor of Gaspé is formally appealing to Energy Minister, Pierre Fitzgibbon, to regulate gasoline prices in Gaspé.

Week after week, the situation remains the same, as motorists in Gaspé continue to pay the highest gasoline prices in Quebec.

On October 31, retailers were advertising $1.75 per litre for regular gasoline. Only the Magdalen Islands and Northern Quebec had higher prices.

The price at the pump dropped to $1.66 on October 31 in the Rocher-Percé MRC, in Grande-Rivière and Chandler, less than an hour’s drive from Gaspé.

This price also prevailed in the Bay of Chaleur area, in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts and Matane. In contrast, Rimouski had a price of $1.69.

This data comes from numbers compiled by the Energy Board

According to the organization, the retail margin for a Gaspé retailer was 18.2 cents per litre. In the Bay of Chaleur, this margin was closer to 12.3 cents, while in Rocher-Percé, it was 10.8 cents.

“That doesn’t make any kind of common sense. This has often been said for the Gaspé Peninsula. We see that in the other sectors, excluding Gaspé, prices are falling and following a market curve and Gaspé still pays the most expensive price for gasoline,” denounces the mayor, Daniel Côté.

“I am convinced that there is someone who controls the price of gasoline. At some point, someone will have to find them and slap them on the fingers,” exasperates the elected official.

“Every time we make media outbursts, they get scared and the price drops because they are afraid of the Competition Bureau or the Energy Board. We have the Competition Bureau and the Energy Board who have decided not to give a damn. During this time, they have raised the price of gasoline solidly in Gaspé while elsewhere in the region and in Quebec, it is lower,” denounces the elected official.

“I appeal to the Minister of Energy to clean up this mess,” demands the mayor.

“Independent retailers do not decide the price of gasoline. They are told it by someone at the top. If there is someone who controls the price, you have to find them and kick them out,” says the mayor.

“If I had the power, I would make every effort to find the culprit. Our people shouldn’t have to pay so much for gasoline. It’s absurd,” says the mayor.

In other remote regions, it was $1.65 in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and $1.66 on the North Shore on October 31.