MONTREAL -- Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd. said that Quebec residents can sign a petition against the imposition of a three-cents-per-liter surcharge on the price of gasoline in any one of the province's Costco warehouses.
Each week, the R agie de l' anergie du Qu abec sets the minimum retail price of gasoline. This price is made up of the price of crude, transportation costs and taxes. In certain circumstances, the R agie may add an amount of three cents per liter for retailers to cover their operating costs, which is then passed on to consumers.
Following a new request tabled with the R agie de l' anergie du Qu abec on August 29 by the AQUIP (Association qu ab acoise des ind apendants du p atrole) and Intergaz, the R agie de l' anergie du Qu abec will soon have to decide whether it will impose (for a third time) this additional cost of three cents per liter on the price of gasoline sold in the city of St-J ar ame, for a period of 24 months.
This surcharge penalizes all St-J ar ame consumers, be they Costco members or not, as all gas stations in St-Jer ame will be forced to increase the sale price of a liter of gasoline said Pierre Riel, Costco's senior vice president and general manager for eastern Canada. Quite frankly, we don't understand why, since consumers are already clearly exasperated by the price of gasoline. It would be very simple for the government of Quebec to amend the existing legislation: this would allow gasoline retailers intent on providing Quebecers the best available gasoline prices in this province to do so in a continued fashion.
Although this regulation by the R agie de l' anergie du Qu abec was initially intended to protect consumers against prolonged price wars, it is out of touch with actual market conditions and penalizes Quebec consumers.
This surcharge of 3 cents per liter is not a corrective measure, but an unnecessary and unjustifiable cost to the consumer, added Riel. What really worries us is that this additional operating cost can be rolled out throughout Quebec and that consumers of gasoline in the province would then needlessly pay more for their gas.
The petition that asks the government of Quebec to declare a moratorium and amend the three-cent operating surcharge regulatory mechanisms that allow the R agie de l' anergie du Qu abec to increase the price of gasoline.
Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco currently operates 487 warehouses in North America and elsewhere in the world. Canada has 68 Costco locations, 16 of which are located in Quebec.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.