Price of gas jumps in the Maritimes ahead of long weekend

Many Maritimers are disappointed with the rise in gas prices ahead of the long weekend.

The price of gas and diesel increased overnight in all three Maritime provinces ahead of the Victoria Day long weekend.

Nova Scotia

The price of regular self-serve gasoline in Nova Scotia increased by 5.6 cents. The minimum price is now 145.0 cents per litre in the Halifax-area.

Diesel prices increased by 9 cents per litre. The new minimum price is 142.2 cents a litre.

In Cape Breton, the price of regular self-serve gasoline is 146.9 cents per litre and the price of diesel is 144.2 cents a litre.

Prince Edward Island

On P.E.I., the price of regular self-serve gasoline increased by 5.7 cents. The minimum price on the island is now 151.9 cents per litre.

The price of diesel increased by 8.1 cents. The minimum price is now 153.9 cents per litre.

New Brunswick

The price of regular self-serve gasoline increased by 6.1 cents in New Brunswick. The new maximum price in the province is 146.9 cents per litre.

Diesel prices increased by 6.3 cents, bringing the maximum price to 146.3 cents a litre.

Carbon adjuster costs

In Moncton, some motorists didn’t seem to mind the price hike, while others were clearly upset.

“It’s disappointing,” said Ron Perkins. “It is what it is, I got to buy gas, but I’d rather not. Maybe if we didn’t all buy gas for a day or two, we would bring it down.”

Danielle Landry said she’s also disappointed about the six-cent hike.

“It’s obviously more expensive and there’s been promises that the gas would be going down or things would just get less expensive in general, and it hasn’t really seemed to happen yet,” said Landry.

Last November, Premier Susan Holt’s Liberal government decided to remove the carbon adjuster costs from the price of fuel. That could save motorists anywhere from five to 10 cents a litre, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, thinks the delay or reluctance to get rid of the carbon adjuster could be due to revenue concerns.

“Eliminating that may be more difficult than simply saying it’s a political calculus. It’s really a financial imperative that may very well at this point be paying for other programs,” said McTeague.

A bill to eliminate the adjustor fee needs to be passed in the legislature.

David Kelly, a spokesperson for the province’s department of finance and treasury board, said the Standing Committee on Law Amendments issued their Final Report on May 6 with respect to the deliberations on a bill regarding petroleum products pricing.

“The report contains a number of recommendations and government is currently reviewing the report and considering next steps,” said Kelly.