It’s deeply frustrating to watch gas prices rise with each passing day. Last week, the price of gas in Williams Lake hovered at $1.70 per litre, and the cost in Metro Vancouver exceeded $2 per litre.
The last few years have conditioned us to accept wildly high prices as typical, but no one can argue that $1.70, let alone $2, a litre for gas is anything close to normal.
No matter where you live in B.C., the high cost of gas has a profound impact on the cost of living. Not just because filling up the family car with fuel gets more expensive, but also because rising gas prices drive unaffordability in every sector. Goods and services are brought to our communities fuel-dependent sources of transportation, meaning that when gas prices are high, everything from food to construction also gets more expensive.
The cost of goods like meat, eggs, and vegetables is higher than ever before, housing prices have reached unbelievable highs, and the reality of having to choose between filling up the car with gas, or buying groceries has become too common for many British Columbians. Surveys have even shown that more than half of people in B.C. are $200 or less away from insolvency.
It’s now hard to believe the NDP government came to power with a campaign promise to “make life more affordable.” Clearly, they were unsuccessful.
This broken promise is made worse by the fact that there are steps government could take to make life a little bit easier for people right now.
Our BC United Caucus has been suggesting a temporary suspension of provincial gas taxes for over a year now — even introducing a bill in the legislature on this issue. Unfortunately, the government has yet to adopt this idea.
There is no easy answer to the affordability crisis in B.C., but there are tangible steps government could take to provide people with immediate relief. For the good of all British Columbians, I hope they take action soon.
monica.lamb-yorski@wltribune.com
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