Kaida23 Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 The Competition Bureau of Canada released this statement yesterday: March 20, 2012 15:19 ETGasoline Companies Plead Guilty to Price-Fixing in Kingston and Brockville, Ontario OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 20, 2012) - The Competition Bureau announced that Pioneer Energy LP, Canadian Tire Corporation, and Mr. Gas pleaded guilty today to fixing the price of retail gasoline from May to November 2007 in Kingston and Brockville, Ontario. The Bureau uncovered evidence that the competitors agreed among themselves to set the gas price for consumers at the pump. The companies pleaded guilty before the Ontario Superior Court in Brockville to price-fixing under the Competition Act and were fined a total of $2 million. Each of the companies will be subject to a court order for ten years and they must educate their employees about the Act. "Consumers in Kingston and Brockville were denied a competitive price for gasoline as a result of this criminal price-fixing cartel," said Melanie Aitken, Commissioner of Competition. "The Bureau will not hesitate to take action when it uncovers evidence of illegal price-fixing." The pleas are as follows: Pioneer Energy LP pleaded guilty to price-fixing in Kingston and Brockville, and was fined $985,000; Canadian Tire Corporation pleaded guilty to price-fixing in Kingston and Brockville, and was fined $900,000; and Mr. Gas pleaded guilty to price-fixing in Brockville and was fined $150,000. Today's criminal charges and guilty pleas are the result of an extensive Bureau investigation that found evidence that gas retailers or their representatives in these local markets phoned each other and agreed on the price they would charge customers for gasoline. The Bureau's investigation into potential price-fixing in the retail gasoline market continues in the Southeastern Ontario market. Price-fixing conspiracies are difficult to detect and prove. High or identical prices are not in and of themselves evidence of criminal activity. There must be evidence that competitors have made an illegal agreement to set those prices. When there are substantiated allegations of wrongdoing in the marketplace, the Bureau will not hesitate to investigate. For further information on the investigation, price-fixing and the Bureau's investigative tools, please consult our backgrounder. The Competition Bureau, as an independent law enforcement agency, ensures that Canadian businesses and consumers prosper in a competitive and innovative marketplace.http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/gasoline-companies-plead-guilty-to-price-fixing-in-kingston-and-brockville-ontario-1634046.htm Looks like the conspiracy nuts were actually right about this one. :lol: I do service work for two of these companies. Pioneer and Canadian Tire are nationwide chains, and Mr. Gas is an independent in the Ottawa area. It really makes me wonder if they're doing this, or at least tried, with other independents (I can think of at least three others off the top of my head in Ottawa alone). Watchdog groups have been screaming about this for years with no results. They must feel pretty justified today. Check out my blog to read the Adventures of a Big Damn (F2P) Hero. THE place for all free players to connect, hang out and talk about how awesome it is to be F2P. So, Kaida is the real version of every fictional science-badass? That explains a lot, actually... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giordano Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Not even fined over a million dollars? Well that's not much of a punishment... "The cry of the poor is not always just, but if you never hear it you'll never know what justice is." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obfuscator Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Fines seem minuscule... "It's not a rest for me, it's a rest for the weights." - Dom Mazzetti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aslan Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 The main oil companies here were fined earlier this year( last autumn, can't remember the exact moment) for rising gasoline prices without any justification. They were fined after a few months investigation. Result? The biggest company increased the prices the very next day. :rolleyes: Good to know the governments are aware of such cases and try ,albeit very shy, to do something about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sees_all1 Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Consumer gets screwed out of their money at the pump. Government says that's not OK, fines the company. Company makes up for the fine by raising the prices even more.Result: Consumer gets screwed twice, once for the price fixing, and one for the government "fixing." 99 dungeoneering achieved, thanks to everyone that celebrated with me! ♪♪ Don't interrupt me as I struggle to complete this thoughtHave some respect for someone more forgetful than yourself ♪♪♪♪ And I'm not doneAnd I won't be till my head falls off ♪♪ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randox Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 They can't raise the prices to make the money back in all the Provinces though. Some of them, like New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have the province set the price once a week based on what they expect the price of oil to be. Of course, this also means they can't really price fix either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonez899 Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 They can't raise the prices to make the money back in all the Provinces though. Some of them, like New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have the province set the price once a week based on what they expect the price of oil to be. Of course, this also means they can't really price fix either.Yeah, but in Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick there is a little you can go up or down on the price so you can still get screwed if you don't pay attention, let alone that most cities have lower prices than towns for some reason, where I live it is always around 5 cents more than the nearest city on average, along with the differences between stores. http://forum.tip.it/topic/325514-bonez899s-journey-to-an-eventual-max/ My blog of progress on Runescape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randox Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 They can't raise the prices to make the money back in all the Provinces though. Some of them, like New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have the province set the price once a week based on what they expect the price of oil to be. Of course, this also means they can't really price fix either.Yeah, but in Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick there is a little you can go up or down on the price so you can still get screwed if you don't pay attention, let alone that most cities have lower prices than towns for some reason, where I live it is always around 5 cents more than the nearest city on average, along with the differences between stores.That's annoying. I thought it was solid province wide. Also, I think their wiggle room is like 3c + whatever limit there is on stuff like the ultramar card, or I think its Esso that does 3c off on thursdays or something. I normally see gas stations as the same price all through the city (I think, I don't actually pay a whole lot of attention to them). What I love is how gas is more expensive in the maratimes than it is in say Ontario, despite the cost of shipping the crude out there (not sure if Ontario gets from the tar sands of Halifax Harbour, either way its quite a haul). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiny Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 For all of you complaining about prices for oil in America, you have to be kidding me. Here, we are paying $2.20 a litre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obfuscator Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 For all of you complaining about prices for oil in America, you have to be kidding me. Here, we are paying $2.20 a litre. Works out to 1.78 a litre in Canada....we've paid almost that at times, though usually it's closer to 1.20 or so. "It's not a rest for me, it's a rest for the weights." - Dom Mazzetti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randox Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 We're at like $1.39 a litre for highest here, if not higher (which is the price I pay any attention too since both my parents cars drink that). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 For all of you complaining about prices for oil in America, you have to be kidding me. Here, we are paying $2.20 a litre.[bleep] O_O Atm I'm paying $1.50 AU per litre of REGULAR Unleaded. not putting that crappy E10 Bio shit in my engine... Popoto.~<3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sees_all1 Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 For all of you complaining about prices for oil in America, you have to be kidding me. Here, we are paying $2.20 a litre.You're doing it wrong. :^_^: 99 dungeoneering achieved, thanks to everyone that celebrated with me! ♪♪ Don't interrupt me as I struggle to complete this thoughtHave some respect for someone more forgetful than yourself ♪♪♪♪ And I'm not doneAnd I won't be till my head falls off ♪♪ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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