Photoz Posted March 21, 2012 Report Posted March 21, 2012 Just checkin' out a few news stories and this headline kinda caught my eye:'Ontario Gas Stations Fined $2M For Price Fixing' (Sorry, I couldn't seem to link it?) It's in among the Sympatico headline news. Ya gotta see this to believe it. Gas companies fixing prices? Oh No!
chessy Posted March 21, 2012 Report Posted March 21, 2012 (edited) http://www.ctv.ca/CT...-fixing-120321/ Three companies have pleaded guilty to fixing the price of gasoline between May and November of 2007 in two Ontario cities: Brockville and Kingston. The Competition Bureau announced in a news release Tuesday that Pioneer Energy LP, Canadian Tire Corporation and Mr. Gas "agreed among themselves to set the gas price for consumers at the pump." The agency said it found evidence that the retailers or their representatives called each other to discuss the price they would charge for gasoline. Specifically, the companies agreed to co-ordinate their response to price changes initiated by major-brand competitors. The companies entered their guilty pleas in a Brockville courtroom and will pay a total of $2 million in fines. "Consumers in Kingston and Brockville were denied a competitive price for gasoline as a result of this criminal price-fixing cartel," Competition Commissioner Melanie Aitken said in a statement. "The Bureau will not hesitate to take action when it uncovers evidence of illegal price-fixing." The agency said the covert nature of such conspiracies make them difficult to prove. The bureau searched six corporate offices and five residences and seized thousands of both paper and electronic records, in addition to using wiretaps surveillance and witness interviews, to build its case. According to the agency: Pioneer Energy was fined $985,000 Canadian Tire was fined $900,000 Mr. Gas, which pleaded guilty to price fixing only in Brockville, was fined $150,000 The Competition Bureau said its investigation into price-fixing in the retail gasoline market is ongoing. Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20120321/gas-price-fixing-120321/#ixzz1pmoI9ncv Edited March 21, 2012 by chessy
Grimace Posted March 21, 2012 Report Posted March 21, 2012 They all do it. The Gov't just busts the small players to give the appearance of giving a crap and let the big boys go about their criminal behaviour so long as they fill their pockets in return.
bigugli Posted March 21, 2012 Report Posted March 21, 2012 They all do it. The Gov't just busts the small players to give the appearance of giving a crap and let the big boys go about their criminal behaviour so long as they fill their pockets in return. They hit the little players in hopes of eventually forcing them out of the game. Less competition all round.
Grimace Posted March 21, 2012 Report Posted March 21, 2012 CT doesn't have a refinery. The little guys buy off the big guys so either way the big fella's win.
Fisherman Posted March 21, 2012 Report Posted March 21, 2012 The problem I see is that there are fines, but no remittance of funds to those who got screwed by this. Doesn't matter if they were fined a trillion, the thread marks are still in the back of my pants. Does the Government give back the excess tax made on the windfall, ya right.
wormdunker Posted March 21, 2012 Report Posted March 21, 2012 Hey guys/girls there's a way to fix this problem. When the big guys raise their gas prices everybody stay home! Don't go to work for 1 day, don't go shopping, don't go to CTC, or Home Depot: don't do anything that involves spending money. Stay home with your loved ones (when is the last time U did that)? Can u imagine if the entire province of Ontario stayed home for 1 day. No retail sales, no tax being paid, no gas purchases, no tax paid. Imagine home depot, Bass Pro, CTC, Zellers, Sobeys, car dealerships, Pizza Pizza, gotta mention the beer store & of course many other retailers with their doors wide open for business & nobody in the store. Would this grab the attention of the FAT CATS? I think so. It was recently reported on the news that the president of a major bank "earned $15 million last year". His salary was $1.5 million, with added bonuses, & shares his income was reported at $15 million for the year!! Guess who paid for it? You & I! Also recently TD Canada Trust is charging $1.00 for U to view your recent account activity on an ATM (bank machine). Dammit it's a machine that U & I paid for, it spits out a piece of paper worth .003 cents & we pay $1.00 for this "service" ? Did u read in the news that they R anticipating gas prices to rise to $1.50 /litre this coming summer. Here in Sudbury gas is already $1.32 / litre, that means with the predicted increase we'll be paying $1.75/ litre. How can they predict this? Would a gas price increase of .25 per litre put a damper on your vacation plans this summer? Damn right it would! I suggested this "day of rest" to some friends many years ago. They all agreed it would get attention. Problem is to get the entire province of Ontario on board. I'm going to start here at the good ole OFC! Pls write a reply, email me [email protected], tell your friends, tell your co workers, send an email to all of your contacts, tell your children, tell your wife, tell your girlfriends, but don't tell your wife about your girlfriend! My hope is, in 72 hours my computer is loaded with replies. We have to stop this nonsense! "united we stand divided we fall"
jim Posted March 22, 2012 Report Posted March 22, 2012 O.K, now you've got me started. Gas in Oshawa 1.30 litre. If I drive to Peterborough. it's 1.20 a litre. I'm sorry, but $.10 a litre difference , tells me there is price fixing everywhere. The big boys are going to milk us , like an old cow , as long as they want , because there is noone willing to take them on! That's my rant for now........and I didn't swear!!
Big Cliff Posted March 22, 2012 Report Posted March 22, 2012 Oh for christ sake wake up! We've been getting ripped off for years and not just with the gas. Try tobacco, food, booze, medication hell, they even tax tolit paper! They tell us this is a democroacy, bull! A democrocy is just a dictatorship with many heads. When I have to work more than 50% of my time to support the people that run our country, when the politicians make 5 or 6 times what the average person does, when they get pensions (paid for by us) that exceed anything we could ever hope to see. Ya, there is no price fixing, and we have a democrocy here, we really get to elect the people that have our best intrests at heart!. And I say it again; BULL!!!!!!!!
kemper Posted March 22, 2012 Report Posted March 22, 2012 (edited) Edit* Ah nevermind...I drive a Honda. Edited March 22, 2012 by kemper
moxie Posted March 22, 2012 Report Posted March 22, 2012 Greed is one of the elements that is going to drive humanity into the ground. Everyone needs Gasoline so staying home or rotating boycotts will likely fail because you will eventually need it. Governments throw good money after bad all the time, but instead of Peemier Mc Dolty pissing a couple of generations worth of funds building Sunflowers and Pinwheels for the last 2 years we could have built a refinery, natural gas fired generators, waste management incinerators, upgraded power grids. I've got a feeling gas prices will be the the least of our worries in the not too distant future.
Grimace Posted March 22, 2012 Report Posted March 22, 2012 (edited) We have been building gas powered power plants like nobody's business the last few years. I know because I worked on a few of them. Off the top of my head there is Goreway (Brampton), Portland's Energy Centre (Unwin Avenue, Toronto), That one off the 401 at Milton (10 bloody minutes from my house and didn't get to work on it. :-)). Doesn't matter anyways, while our hydro bills go through the roof we are paying the states to take our excess hydro. Bwahahahaha. Wait a minute, that's not funny at all. Edited March 22, 2012 by Grimace
DRIFTER_016 Posted March 22, 2012 Report Posted March 22, 2012 That's why I live in the North and make my power by burning old tires and heat my home by feeding bunnies into my wood stove!!!!! :tease:
Flappn Posted March 23, 2012 Report Posted March 23, 2012 They hit the little players in hopes of eventually forcing them out of the game. Less competition all round. This is exactly what they are doing. Last year driving up north every weekend just south of Gravenhurst the Esso and Pioneer where always 10 cents cheaper than the city..sometimes more. A new Shell opened up just south of the Esso and Pioneer and started doing the same thing. We are getting ripped off plain and simple. I am just waiting for the breaking point...when the general mass revolt about tax's, hydro, gas and so on. It's coming....be prepared. Humans will only be backed into a corner for so long....like any animal they will react.
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