For Immediate Release
8 July, 2022
NDP MHA for Torngat Mountains, Lela Evans, is calling on the Public Utilities Board to review price of gasoline on the North Coast of Labrador.
A bulk fuel shipment was delivered in late June, by marine tanker to the northern Labrador communities, and on June 30th the PUB froze gasoline prices at 245.7 cents per litre. However, with only eight days since the price freeze was introduced the provincial gasoline prices have fallen by almost 20 cents per liter.
Because fuel was delivered when market prices were high, residents of the North Coast of Labrador are now paying an extra $0.50/Litre compared to customers in the Avalon region. Last night the price of fuel dropped $0.14/L across the province while prices on the North Coast of Labrador remained unchanged.
“This policy is now adding another crisis on top of what we have been facing after decades of successive governments who refuse to invest in proper infrastructure; this marginalizes Indigenous communities,” said Evans.
“The Public Utilities Board needs to review these policies immediately. Keeping the price of gas at this price point will increase food insecurity in our region,” Evans said today. “People can’t fuel boats to fish and hunt meaning they can’t offset the high prices of food that come as a result of the provincial government removing the freight boat service without a dedicated road to the North Coast. This isn’t pleasure craft boating, this fishing and hunting is because the price of food in grocery stores is very expensive here.”
Ending economic marginalization towards indigenous peoples is one of the calls to action from the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The increased price in fuel, and the lack of any dedicated road to the North, or dedicated freight boat only makes the situations worse for Indigenous communities on the North Coast of Labrador. The NL NDP is calling on the Public Utilities Board to review the pricing of fuel on the North Coast of Labrador and head the call to action from the National Inquiry and take this opportunity to reduce economic marginalization currently being experienced by Indigenous peoples in this province.
“This approach to gas pricing was brought in when markets were stable, and was meant to stop price gouging,” said Evans. “We are living in a different global market, and government agencies need to ensure that the food insecurity this is causing across the province isn’t unfairly impacting Indigenous peoples on the North Coast.”
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NDP Caucus Office, Confederation Building, St. John’s, NL A1B 4J6 ˑ 709-729-0270 ˑ