No wonder people are so jaded and cynical when it comes to gas prices in Osoyoos – and across the rest of this country.
For the past several months, the price for a litre of gas at all of the stations in Osoyoos was hovering around the $1.41 mark.
That all changed over the weekend when the price suddenly dropped to $1.35 per litre.
This just happens to be the same price that was being charged by gas stations in Oliver and Okanagan Falls for the past couple of months.
There is absolutely no rhyme or reason or any logical excuse why the price for a litre of gas in Osoyoos has been substantially higher in our community than what has been charged by gas station owners in Oliver only 12 minutes away by car.
Most Canadians are angry, confused, cynical and upset about gas prices in this country, while many others are apathetic and don’t feel they have any power to change the system no matter how hard they try.
The powerful oil companies simply ignore requests by the media or members of the public when they are asked difficult questions about the high price of fuel and why prices are significantly different from one town to the other.
Senior governments refuse to listen to the concerns of average Canadians and do little to nothing to lower the price of fuel in this country.
All of this at a time when the major oil companies are making billions of dollars in profits.
There is simply no excuse for Osoyoos residents to be paying $1.41 per litre of gasoline when they can cross the border and pay less than $1 per litre at an American gas station three minutes away.
It all boils down to greed.
The oil companies in this country are greedy and more than willing to gouge Canadians any time, any place, anywhere.
Without senior governments willing to step in to control prices, Canadians just have to grin and bear it.
The sad reality is many working poor, seniors and young people simply can’t afford to own or operate a motor vehicle simply because they can’t afford the exorbitant gas prices being charged in this country.
There is only two ways this will ever change.
Senior levels of government can step in demand changes and lower prices or Canadians can protest by dramatically cutting back on the amount of fuel they use, thus significantly lowering the profits for major oil companies. There’s not likely much chance of either scenario taking place any time soon. And the price of gas and diesel will remain obscene.
