There is no reason to be suspicious about the gas prices in the North Bay.
At least that’s according to the Competition Bureau, a national independent law enforcement agency responsible for investigating price-fixing, price maintenance, abuse of dominance and agreements among gas pump competitors.
At the end of July, city councillor Mike Anthony put forward a unanimous resolution for the city to request that the Bureau investigate the issue of high gasoline prices in town.
But after two months and a preliminary examination, the Bureau has returned a letter to Jerry Knox, the city's chief administrative officer, stating that the early investigation into the North Bay area found no reason for further inquiry.
“The Bureau has reviewed the evidence [the city] provided and conducted a preliminary examination. This examination has not provided reason to believe that the gasoline prices in North Bay are the repercussion of anti-competitive conduct and, as a result, the Bureau will not be investigating this particular matter further,” reads the response from John Pecman, the commissioner of competition.
No specific details were included in the Bureau’s letter back to the city, something Anthony said leaves many questions unanswered.
“I’m still really glad we asked them,” Anthony said on Monday night. “I think we’ve seen that we’ve had lower prices for a couple of months now and I still think the public should forward any information or concerns they have or anything that they think could help.
“At least we put the issue on the map,” he added. “I’m disappointed that they won’t investigate, but I’m certainly proud that council supported it; it was high time that we did - we had so many people talk to us as councillors about a number of issues, and this one in particular kept arising.”
While only anecdotal, Anthony read the average gas prices from Barrie, Orillia, Peterborough, Huntsville, Chatham, Kingston, Sturgeon Falls and Thunder Bay when he put the original motion forward, all of which were well below North Bay’s average.
Local prices have dipped slightly since Anthony’s resolution was passed, a trend noticed elsewhere throughout the province though.
At that time, the provincial average price according to gasbuddy.com was 116.2 cents per litre, while North Bay’s average was hovering around 126.9.
On Monday, North Bay’s average price at the pump was hovering around 103 cents per litre, with the provincial average roughly 99.2 cents per litre.
“I definitely think it still defies logic when we seem to have been higher than all other places so many times,” Anthony said on Monday, “but I’m glad they responded to us; at least we got that back.
“In our case, was their preliminary examination enough to come up with something to keep going and keep digging? Maybe not right now,” he added, “but I certainly hope that we are on their radar and I certainly hope that the community […] will contact the Competition Bureau with any concerns that they have.”
However, Anthony said he is encouraged by the Bureau’s welcoming of further facts and evidence, something the councillor hopes residents will do if they come across any questionable conduct.
“The Bureau invites anyone who believes they have evidence of anti-competitive conduct, such as an agreement between competitors to fix prices, to bring it to the Bureau’s attention,” the letter reads. “Evidence of communications between competitors to set prices […] is particularly helpful to the Bureau.”
Since 2008, the Bureau has charged 19 companies and 39 individuals for fixing the price of gas at the pumps in Ontario and Quebec. Of those charges, 44 either were found or pleaded guilty, resulting in fines in surplus of $6.5 million and 54 months of total imprisonment.
Most notably, the Bureau fined three gas stations in Kingston after an investigation three years ago for fixing the price of retail gasoline for a six-month period in 2007.
In that particular investigation, the Bureau discovered the three competitors in question had phoned each other and agreed to set gas prices at the pump.
After pleading guilty, the three companies were fined a total of $2 million under the Competition Act and were subject to a court order for 10 years thereafter.
The City of Timmins also began investigating price-fixing at their pumps after countless complaints and observations similar to Anthony’s just over a year ago.
The letter from the Bureau states that any questions, complaints or evidence of anti-competitive conduct should contact Mr. Richard Bilodeau, Associate Deputy Commissioner of Competition, Monopolistic Practices Directorate, at 819-953-8536 or at [email protected]
