Town council wants to get to the bottom of why fuel prices are so high in Bonnyville, and they're ready to do something about it. "I'm quite upset that the price of fuel in Bonnyville is so high, 101 cents to 103 cents per litre, relative to 86.
Town council wants to get to the bottom of why fuel prices are so high in Bonnyville, and they're ready to do something about it.
"I'm quite upset that the price of fuel in Bonnyville is so high, 101 cents to 103 cents per litre, relative to 86.9 cents in Cold Lake, 88 cents at one point in time, and 91 cents in St. Paul," said Mayor Gene Sobolewski. "Why we're the peak, I have no idea. I'd definitely like to have this issue dealt with."
He's not alone. That sentiment was echoed around the table at the March 28 council meeting.
Coun. Jim Cheverie recounted two instances within the last month when he fuelled up in Cold Lake, where the prices were 15 cents per litre cheaper than they were in Bonnyville.
"I know there are always anomalies in the prices of fuel in town, and anywhere in Alberta. A few years ago, it was three to four cents per litre higher - this was the high point of a few cents," Cheverie noted, stressing that this time it's a much larger gap.
"The amount isn't pennies. I saved $16 on my truck in both occasions."
To get more information on the difference in gas prices between Bonnyville and other communities in the area, Sobolewski proposed that council sit down with local retailers. He also tasked administration with seeing if there's anything the town can do on a legal side to regulate the cost of fuel.
"If we had the ability to pass a bylaw to say, 'no, we'd like to be the average of the communities east, west, and south of us.' I know we can't, but it'd be nice to undertake that research with a lawyer. Maybe we can report it, take our concerns a little higher up the food chain to somebody."
If something isn't done, council expressed concern over residents leaving town to get fuel and spending their money elsewhere.
"We'll just be encouraging everybody to go shopping outside of our boundaries for fuel, and while they're there maybe they'll do some shopping and go to the restaurants. That's totally unacceptable," said Sobolewski.
However, council stressed that boycotting local retailers isn't the way to go. When it comes down to setting the prices, the cost per litre is determined by the suppliers and not the gas stations.
"I know it doesn't matter what they sell it at, they make four cents per litre. The price is dictated by your fuel supplier," explained Coun. John Irwin. "The insanity of it right now is the fuel being sold in Cold Lake is still coming out of the refineries in Edmonton, so they can't say it's extra trucking to get to Bonnyville."
When the issue has arose in the past, Sobolewski noted that he was told the reason behind the rise in cost within town boundaries was due to supply and demand, but he's not buying it.
"If it is supply and demand, then with our population they're using relative to the amount of fuel is either skewed or they're using an awful lot of population data from the MD. I don't know how they're doing it, but it's incorrect...I think the biggest question I have is why is Bonnyville being prejudiced? What's going on?"
Council agreed to sit down with local retailers in the coming months to discuss in-depth how the prices are set, and find out who they have to meet with to see if anything can be done.
"I don't know if we can do anything about it, if it's going to fall on deaf ears," expressed Coun. Ray Prevost. "I know one thing's for sure: staying mute about it doesn't help. I think the more noise we make about it, maybe something will happen."
