Canadian gas-station protest spreadsdian

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Saturday 8 April 2000

Gas-station protest spreads

Esso outlets added to boycott list in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean

The Gazette

The region's Petro-Canada affiliate, which has seen sales drop by 50 per cent since the protest against high gasoline prices began on Monday, warns tactic is jeopardizing jobs.

The boycott of Petro-Canada gas stations in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region expanded to include Esso outlets yesterday while organizers called on the province's other outlying areas to follow suit.

"Things are really moving," said organizer Jocelyn Girard-Bujold, the Bloc Quebecois MP for Jonquiere, where the boycott started. "We are having an effect."

Petroles Cadeko Inc., the Petro-Canada affiliate in the region that has seen its sales plummet by about 50 per cent since the boycott began Monday, rescinded its threat to sue those responsible.

But it warned that the pressure tactic is jeopardizing employment at about 30 of its stations in the area.

Girard-Bujold, a member of the coalition behind the boycott that includes union federations, the mayor of Jonquiere, the chamber of commerce and a local truckers' organization, said that Petro-Canada was targeted because it is "a well-known national symbol."

She denied that the company was pinpointed because of its Canadian image in a region where Quebec nationalist sentiments run high.

"There was nothing political about this," she said.

Esso has now been added to the boycott list, Girard-Bujold said, because it is the highest revenue earner among gasoline companies in the province.

The Coalition for Fuel Consumers, which is spearheading the protest, was recently formed by Jonquiere Mayor Daniel Giguere in response to soaring gas prices that have enraged motorists across the country. The coalition claims a 2-cent decrease in prices at the pump this week was a direct result of the boycott.

On Thursday, Ultramar dropped its price from 77.4 to 75.4 cents a litre, which other stations in the region matched. Ultramar denied that the move had anything to do with the boycott.

Girard-Bujold said that gas prices in isolated regions like the Saguenay should be 4 cents lower than those in urban areas like Montreal and Quebec City. And she said the onus is on the federal government, not Quebec, to lower taxes.

Clement Houle, spokesman for Cadeko, said that the threat to sue organizers of the boycott is "on ice."

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/pages/000408/3898151.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), April 08, 2000

Answers

Sunday 9 April 2000

70-cent gas price demanded

Jonquiere coalition threatens to spread boycott to other municipalities AMANDA JELOWICKI The Gazette

PIERRE OBENDRAUF, GAZETTE / Attendant Pierrick Choiniere-Lapointe pumps fuel at a gas station on the corner of de Lorimier Ave. and de Maisonneuve Blvd. yesterday.

An organizer of a growing boycott of Petro-Canada and Esso gas stations in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region said yesterday that more stations may be added to the list in the coming days if gas prices aren't further reduced.

Jonquiere Mayor Daniel Giguere also said the Coalition for Fuel Consumers will call off its boycott once gas prices are reduced to a maximum of 70 cents a litre.

Gas prices were fixed yesterday in the region at 75.4 cents.

"People are really respecting the boycott," Giguere said yesterday. ''We want the price at 70 cents and this is extremely reasonable. Our boycott is a clear signal (to gas companies) that their prices are abusive. When they go down, we will lift our boycott."

Giguere formed the coalition in response to high gas prices. The Quebec Federation of Labour, Bloc Quebecois member of Parliament Jocelyn Girard-Bujold and a truckers' organization have all joined the boycott.

Petroles-Cadeko Inc., the Petro-Canada affiliate in the region, has seen its sales decrease by 50 per cent since the boycott began last Monday.

Employees at a number of Esso gas stations in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint- Jean region said they were not permitted to comment on how the boycott is affecting their sales. The Esso head office in Montreal did not return phone calls yesterday.

Giguere said that since the boycott started, 20 mayors in the region have voiced their support.

"Everyone says the prices aren't justified," Giguere said. "The margin of profit in the Saguenay is the highest in all of Canada. Gas companies abuse the prices per litre. It's not acceptable."

Giguere said studies have shown that the profit margin for gas companies in his region is 11.4 cents per litre, while in the rest of Canada it is closer to 5 cents per litre.

Giguere said the coalition's next targets will be the federal and provincial governments. About 53 per cent of the price of a litre of gas is paid to the government in taxes. He said he has asked to meet with both Premier Lucien Bouchard and Prime Minister Jean Chretien as soon as possible to discuss lifting the heavy burden of gas taxes.

"We are also denouncing the taxes. They are just too high. They have surplus budgets. Fifty-three per cent of the price of gas is taxes. They shouldn't be taking so much."

Petro-Canada was the first gas station to be targeted, Giguere said, because it is a Canadian company. He said Esso was next, because it is the largest and most profitable gas company in the country. He said the coalition claimed a small victory when Ultramar gas stations reduced their prices to the current 75.4 cents a litre last week, and all other gas stations, including Petro-Canada and Esso, followed suit.

While the boycott hasn't spread to Montreal yet, Giguere said the coalition is going to be approaching many more municipalities in Quebec this week to join the boycott.

Gas could be found in the Montreal region yesterday for as low as 74.9 cents a litre.

Rob Smith, one of the organizers of a gas boycott of Petro-Canada in Ontario, said Quebec's boycott is the strongest and most successful one in the country.

"Quebecers are much more passionate than Ontarians. It's a good place to run a boycott. If the rest of Canada could have half the passion that Quebec has, we would be winning the war (on gas prices)."

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/pages/000409/3901411.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), April 09, 2000.


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