Consistently high gas prices have drained the patience of 100 Mile House residents and some want the District of 100 Mile House to do something about it.
Council members discussed at length at the Oct. 10 council meeting a letter sent to them from a member of the public complaining that fuel prices are consistently higher in town than they are in other communities.
“This isn’t anything new,” Mayor Maureen Pinkney said. “Donna (Barnett) alluded to that when she was mayor and they fought it many, many times.”
The former mayor and current council member said she wrote a letter at the time to the competition branch of the federal government asking why gas prices were so high.
“All I got back was ‘Well, you have lots of gas stations around so there’s lots of competition.’ That’s all they had to say,” Barnett told council last week.
Prior to the meeting, Coun. Ralph Fossum checked gas prices across the region and provided a summary of prices to the north, east and south of 100 Mile. They were all cheaper ranging from $.02 less in 150 Mile, $.05 less in Little Fort and $.17 less in Kamloops.
“Being a community that has among the highest gas prices is not good for us or the health of our overall community,” said Fossum, who suggested a letter be written to local gas station owner/operators within the municipality asking for an explanation.
The letter sent Oct. 11 to a handful of local gas stations said council fields inquiries on a regular basis about why the community has such high fuel costs compared to other nearby communities.
“At some points in time, as is the case today; local fuel costs are even higher than in the Lower Mainland. This makes no sense,” the letter said. “For years District and area residents have experienced excessive fuel pricing; at times being the highest in the Province outside of the Lower Mainland where there is a local `transit tax’ (18 cents/L) imposed on motorists.”
The letter goes on to say: “We are all seeking justification and an explanation as to why it appears to be price gouged in 100 Mile House.”
Signed by the mayor and council, it requests a written response “in a timely manner so that we may share information with frustrated members of our community.”
While the municipality does not levy a tax on fuel prices within the district, 25 per cent of the cost of fuel comes from a variety of federal and provincial taxes, including the carbon tax.
Gas prices are regularly the topic of local social media rants. Longtime resident Hedy Buurmeester is a frequent commenter and she suggested people band together and send a truck of jerry cans to Williams Lake and get gas that way.
“Let’s try it and find out,” she said when the Free Press reached out to her. “I’m sure if enough people do it, it will at least send a message.”