The House met at 10 a.m. This bill is about consumer protection, the right and protection of employees who refuse to partake in illegal anti-competitive activities sponsored by their employers which hurt the consumer. It is about improving the investigation and prosecution of companies that engage in price fixing and price gouging.
Consumers continue to be victimized by market-wide fluctuations in the price of gasoline.
Both levels of government say that they sympathize with consumers but add they cannot prove price fixing. Consumers know that price fixing exists and demand that governments stand up to protect their interests. This bill provides us with the evidence gathering tools needed to expose how gas prices are really set and put an end to the practice of gouging the consumer at the pumps. The bill amends the Competition Act to require oil companies to give 30-days' notice of any increase in the price at which they sell gasoline to gasoline retail distributors if the increase is more than 1 per cent. Such notice is to be given to the minister responsible for enforcing the act and shall include the effective date of the price increase and the reason or reasons for it.