“Alberta’s government showed tremendous leadership on fighting inflation when it eliminated the 13-cent per litre provincial fuel tax on April 1. This resulted in immediate and significant savings for Albertans at the pump, with Alberta having by far the lowest gasoline prices in Canada thanks to the fuel tax cut.
“That’s because gasoline retailers chose to pass these savings along to their customers. However, over the last 10 days, the gas price advantage Albertans have enjoyed relative to other provinces has disappeared and it now appears Albertans are no longer benefiting from the tax cut.
“As I said when we announced this measure in March, we won’t accept any games being played with this.
“First, this afternoon I met with the Canadian Fuels Association to express Albertans’ frustration with recent gas price trends and demand an explanation for why this is going on.
“Second, I will ask the Competition Bureau of Canada to investigate potential gasoline price fixing in Alberta. Under the Competition Act, it is illegal for competitors to mutually agree to set prices. Albertans deserve to know if this is going on.
“Finally, I have directed Service Alberta to explore whether there are any tools we could use under Alberta’s Consumer Protection Act on this matter.
“With Alberta no longer collecting fuel taxes at the pump, Albertans deserve to know why they are suddenly paying as much for gasoline as motorists in Toronto when as recently as two weeks ago they were paying far less.”