gasoline

Tuesday July 30, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday July 30, 2019

Ford government reversing autism program changes

There’s news today from Queen’s Park that the Ontario government will reverse its direction on the funding of the province’s autism program.

February 16, 2019

This comes after months of protests from parents and an internal review that called for an immediate reset of its strategy.

Todd Smith, the new Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, announced on Monday that the government will move to design a funding program based on the needs of individual children.

Smith says the new program will work within a $600-million budget.

“It’s clear that the Ford government, we didn’t get the re-design right the first time. I’m here to tell you we will now,” said Smith.

“My message to families of children and youth with autism is, we have heard you, and we are taking action,” said Smith. “Our government is committed to a needs-based program that provides children and youth with the supports they need to thrive. Over the past number of weeks, I have met with service providers and families of children with autism who share a common goal to provide the best possible care and make a positive difference in the lives of children and families living with autism in Ontario.” (CTV News) 

 

Thursday April 18, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 18, 2019

Ontario gas stations could be fined $10,000 a day for missing anti-carbon-tax stickers

Buried in Ontario’s budget bill are fines of up to $10,000 per day for gas station operators who don’t display government-mandated stickers about the price of the carbon tax.

August 17, 2016

The budget contains a new piece of legislation called the Federal Carbon Tax Transparency Act that would require gas stations to display the sticker on each pump. The sticker shows the federal carbon tax adding 4.4 cents per litre to the price of gas now, rising to 11 cents a litre in 2022.

The legislation lets the government send inspectors to see if gas stations are properly displaying the stickers and sets out penalties for non-compliance.

Individuals could be fined up to $500 each day, or up to $1,000 a day for subsequent offences. Corporations could be fined up to $5,000 a day, or up to $10,000 a day for subsequent offences.

Obstructing an inspector would carry a fine of at least $500 and up to $10,000.

December 1, 2018

“This is a new low, even for (Premier) Doug Ford,” NDP energy critic Peter Tabuns said in a statement. “It’s bad enough that he’s wasting public money on partisan promotion, but now he’s threatening private business owners with massive fines for failing to post [Progressive] Conservative Party advertisement.”

Similar critiques came from federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, who denounced the fines as “ridiculous.”

“Not only is this a violation of freedom of speech, it will cost small business owners across the province who don’t want to take part in this government propaganda campaign,” McKenna said in a statement.

“This should be denounced by all political parties as a new low for our political discourse.”

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said Ford is wasting tax dollars and abusing legal tools to bolster his anti-carbon tax campaign.

“This has nothing to do with transparency and everything to do with helping his federal cousins win the election,” Schreiner said in a statement. (CBC News) 

 

Thursday November 29, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 29, 2018

A global shift toward electric vehicles is well underway, experts say

When General Motors cited plans to pivot toward electric and autonomous vehicle production as a key reason it had decided to mothball its Oshawa assembly plant, the company was talking about a future that many Canadians didn’t recognize.

August 4, 2017

But experts say the auto industry’s seismic shift away from the traditional internal combustion engine is already well underway.

“Pretty much every manufacturer’s making some decision and financial commitment to what the vehicle of the future is going to look like,” said David Adams, president and CEO of Global Automakers of Canada, an umbrella industry association that represents BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, and Volkswagen.

“Our members, all of them look at … decarbonized transportation as what the future is going to be.”

In a news release Monday, GM said it would cease current operations in Oshawa, as well as four plants in the U.S., by the end of 2019. The company said the decision would save it $6 billion, and enable it to double investment in its electric and autonomous vehicle programs in the next two years.

July 17, 2009

According to Adams full automation of vehicles is likely still “decades away.”

But electric vehicles — either battery electric or plug-in hybrids — make up a small but rapidly growing share of the market. As of December, 1.4 per cent of all vehicles sold in Canada were electric, according to FleetCarma, a technology consultant firm, and there were just under 50,000 of the vehicles on Canada’s roads.

However, the number of electric vehicles sold last year increased 68 per cent compared to the year before. The 18,560 plug-in vehicles that drivers bought in 2017 represented a fivefold increase compared to sales in 2013.

The GM-made Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid, was the hottest seller in Canada last year, followed by the Chevrolet Bolt, a battery electric vehicle. GM announced this week it would discontinue the Volt as the company prioritizes battery electric vehicles. (Source: Toronto Star) 

 

Saturday May 5, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday May 5, 2018

Ontario gas prices approach record high as election looms

The high price of gasoline is a concern right now for many of Ontario’s drivers and voters, giving it the potential to become an issue in the provincial election campaign.

The average price of regular unleaded gas across the province is sitting just shy of $1.37/litre according to data compiled by the Ministry of Energy. That’s just six cents lower than the highest-ever average price that hit the province in late June 2014, shortly after Ontario went to the polls the last time.

PC leader Doug Ford is trying to convince voters that gas prices will soar even further if the Liberals are re-elected.

“We all know that paying $1.50 for gas is what would happen under the Kathleen Wynne government,” Ford told a news conference at a gas station last week. “Kathleen Wynne will have her hand in your pocket every time you fill at the pump. I can tell you, that’s not going to happen on our watch.”  

Ford says his government would bring down gas prices by ending the Liberals’ cap-and-trade program. That would knock 4.3 cents a litre off the price.

However, Ford is not promising to scrap or reduce the provincial gasoline tax, which adds 14.7 cents to each litre. The gas tax brings $2.7 billion into provincial coffers each year, with a portion allocated to municipalities for local transit. Only three provinces have a lower gas tax than Ontario.  

“We were very clear when we took action on climate change that there was a small increase in the price of gas,” Premier Kathleen Wynne said this week in response to a question from CBC News.

She argues that this latest spike is a result of market forces.  

“There’s a very significant vacillation of gas prices,” Wynne said. “It’s very challenging, it’s a private market.” (Source: CBC) 

 

Thursday October 16, 2014

Thursday October 16, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday October 16, 2014

Gas prices at 5-year low and dropping

The pain oil producers feel with oil prices hovering just above $80 a barrel is a bonus for consumers filling up at the gas pump.

Gasoline prices are at a five-year low in Canada, leaving more money in consumers’ pockets.

Prices have dropped to the $1.11 a litre level in some parts of Ontario, as low as $1.03 in Edmonton, $1.25 in Vancouver and $1.22 in St. John`s, a sharp price drop from the early summer. The Canadian average was about $1.23, according to Roger McKnight, an analyst with En-Pro International.

The price will fall even lower in most parts of Canada over the coming weeks, said Dan McTeague, who analyzes oil and gas prices at tomorrowsgaspricetoday.com.

McKnight agrees. “I could see it [crude] going down another $6 a barrel for WTI and that would translate into another three cents per litre [at the pumps] within the next 30 days,” he said.

McTeague said years of speculation drove world oil prices to $147 US a barrel in 2008 and $115 US this June at the time when ISIS seemed to be threatening supply in Syria.

But now there is a worldwide glut of oil.

“The reality is now setting in that crude has no floor, and as any other commodity, when the supply is high and the demand is low, prices have nowhere to go but down,” he told CBC News.

The shale oil boom in the U.S. has resulted in strong supply in North America and Saudi Arabia signalled last week that it would continue to pump oil and sell it at $80 a barrel, rather than manage its supply. That’s a 30 per cent drop since June.

And waning international growth has led to a drop in demand for crude.

West Texas Intermediate, the main oil contract traded in New York, is selling at $81.78 US a barrel today, and Western Canada Select, the price paid to many Canadian producers, is at $68.98 US.

Finance Minister Joe Oliver acknowledged the hit against Canadian producers, who may soon have to cut back on investment in new production.

“There will be implications for some companies, on the other hand, Canadian consumers can benefit from lower prices,” he said in a news conference Tuesday. (Source: CBC News)