Dear Editor:

Further to the letter written by Mike Stiles in the Nov. 26 issue regarding “Disabled advocate insists accessibility issues still not being properly addressed.”

This is yet another example of how big multinational oil and gas companies and their franchisees have no regard for the customers they are supposed to serve, for the environment where they extract the resources or the Canadian society in general.

It is all about excessive greed. Is it any wonder that people are starting to revolt and demonstrate against their unilateral decisions?

In a town where many of the people are elderly, you would think they would offer full service to the people who need it without charging extra for it.

Last summer I stopped at the Shell station to fill up with fuel and propane. I was able to serve myself with fuel, but needed to ask for an attendant to get propane. When I inquired inside, I was told someone would be out shortly.

After 20 minutes I went back inside only to be told the attendant was alone in the building and couldn’t leave the counter  as long as there were customers there.

I was angry so I took my business across the street to the Husky only to find the same “one attendant policy” in that business as well.

I waited another 20 minutes there.

What terrible service.

Where do these people get their business acumen? Offering to serve seniors and handicap people 10 per cent of the time and charging extra for it is an insult.

In many other cities and towns both in B.C. and Alberta, full service bays and service stations exist at the same price and even lower than we are paying in Osoyoos

Speaking of price, how do we as consumers allow our government leaders to continue to close a blind eye to flagrant collusion and extortion.

One year ago a barrel of crude oil was trading at $120. Today it is at $67. That is a 44 per cent drop. At the same time gas was at $1.40 per litre in Osoyoos and the price per litre is still $1.18, a drop of only 15 per cent.

How does that work? Do the executives think that the general population is illiterate?

Furthermore, at the same time we are paying $1.18 per litre in Osoyoos, five kilometres south of us fuel well under a dollar a litre.

In Edmonton the same fuel is $0.87 per litre.

I realize part of the difference is taxation, but I would challenge either the gas companies or their franchisees  to explain  the differences and also why all the gas companies are selling at the same price in the same town at the same time.

Is Osoyoos considered a tourist town where tourists are forced to pay these prices?

What about the permanent residents. How insensitive and illogical. Is it any wonder that people  fill up outside of Osoyoos?

B. Langlois

Osoyoos, B.C.