Gaspé wins the gold medal for highest gas prices in Quebec

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – Oil companies continue to exploit drivers in Gaspé by charging the highest price per litre gas prices in Quebec, except for James Bay. 

According to data from the Energy Board, Gaspé’s price is $1.74 per litre for regular gasoline as of September 5.  James Bay shows a price of $1.89, based on published reports.  In other outlying regions, the North Shore advertised an average price of $1.69 and Abitibi-Témiscamingue $1.66.  The average price in the Lower Saint Lawrence region is $1.62. In the region, the average price in the Bay of Chaleur is $1.66 and $1.73 in Rocher-Percé. 

This means that for each litre sold on September 5, retailers are pocketing 24.8 cents in Gaspé, 24.3 cents in Rocher-Percé and 20.2 cents in the Bay of Chaleur.  The respective averages over the last year are 16.2 cents, 14.3 cents and 13.0 cents.  Taking into account the price at the pump and the average over the past year, the pump price should be $1.59 in Bay of Chaleur, $1.61 in Rocher-Percé and $1.64 in Gaspé. 

The mayor of Gaspé has been denouncing the situation since 2019.  “I would like us to get a little attention from the Competition Bureau of Canada. It’s their job to clean up and investigate this. It’s not true that He points out that investigators went to the Lower Saint Lawrence and Côte-Nord regions in the past year. 

“Why are they able to go to those regions and not to us?” questions the mayor.  “They’re not doing their job. That’s the heart of the problem. I’m not saying there are anti-competitive practices, but the numbers speak for themselves. When gasoline is more expensive in Gaspé than in the Magdalen Islands, when prices are at the same level as those in isolated communities in the Far North of Quebec, there is reason to scratch your head. It is impossible that this is just a game of supply and demand,” analyzes the mayor. 

In the Magdalen Islands, the posted price was $1.69 on September 5. 

Signed Collective Agreement 

The workers affiliated with you can investigate from an office in Ottawa,” notes Daniel Côté. the CSN and the Town of Gaspé signed the new five-year collective agreement Tuesday evening after 12 rounds of complex and arduous negotiations. 

The mayor did not participate in the discussions but notes that the parties came close to the breaking point, but the council unanimously accepted the agreement and the union members by 87% in June. “For us, it was important to offer working conditions that are at least equivalent to what prevails in the market. We rebalanced certain positions in terms of salary, in particular, because we were losing a lot of employees,” says the mayor. 

The agreement, retroactive to January 1, provides for a catch-up of up to $3.75 per hour for certain trades in the first year.  In subsequent years, salary increases will range from 2.45% to 2.75% depending on the CPI (Consumer price index) and will be cappe 

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