Editor: Re: “The price gougers,” (editorial, The Times, May 29).
Our federal government ignores laws to protect the consumer from price fixing. We have the Competition Act, which provides for stiff fines if companies engage in practices to lower competition.
Soon after Russ Hiebert was parachuted into our riding as an MP, I pointed out to him that service stations change their prices a minimum of twice a day. That was an exercise in futility — I received a three-page letter about “economics” and supply and demand.
Next I contacted the competition bureau. After five months, I got a reply from a fellow there advising they do not have enough evidence.
I told them how the scheme operates. At that time, each station received a call at a certain hour and minute from the oil companies to increase or decrease the price. Now it’s computer controlled.
A year after that, I received a proud communication stating that the bureau prosecuted two owners in Drummondville, Quebec after a nine-month “stakeout.” They were convicted to six weeks or so of house arrest.
Wolfgang Schmitz,
White Rock