Gas, diesel prices increase for fifth straight week.
Posted Feb 24, 2012 06:01:28 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Nova Scotia’s gas prices have gone up for a fifth straight week.
As predicted, regulated prices rose 1.4 cents a litre overnight, moving the price of regular self-serve to $1.365 overnight.
Diesel prices climbed 1.6 cents a litre to $1.365 in metro.
Nova Scotians are now paying the highest gas prices in the Maritimes and the second-highest in the country, according to gasbuddy.com – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Senior petroleum analyst for En-Pro International Inc. Roger McKnight says gas prices will rise 12 to 15 per cent by May, which translates to $1.50 a litre in metro.
Drivers in Halifax weren’t happy with the news, calling it “obscene,” “disgusting,” and “horrible,” but they didn’t challenge the prediction.
One woman suggested it’s time for the province to take action.
“I think there should be something governed,” she said. “Darrell Dexter, step up and do something. This is ridiculous.”
Nova Scotia’s gas prices are already regulated, but a release from the Liberals calls on the Dexter government to eliminate the “tax-on-tax,” which would cut gas prices by four cents a litre.
“The NDP used to agree with this principle – but instead of ending the practice Premier Dexter himself called ‘immoral’, his government now defends the tax-on-tax and collects the windfall each time the price of gasoline increases,” says Liberal leader Stephen McNeil in a release.
Several drivers said that without some kind of intervention, gas would become a luxury.
“A lot of people are going to suffer,” said one man. “A dollar-fifty a litre, you’re talking six dollars a gallon for gas, and a lot of people are not going to be able to drive their cars.”
Another man said it’s baffling that Nova Scotia’s average gas price is among the highest in the country.
“Why is it here in Nova Scotia that we’re paying some of the highest taxes for gasoline when we have a refinery right across the harbour?” he asked. “And we produce a lot of oil in Canada, but we ship it out and we’re paying more than they are in the States. Why is that?”
The highest gas price on record in metro since regulation was introduced in 2006 is $1.
