Copyright ) 2000 CBC All Rights Reserved Fuel prices push Canada's inflation rate higher WebPosted Mon Apr 17 11:05:12 2000 ET

OTTAWA - If you felt like it was difficult to make ends meet in March, you weren't alone. The price of goods and services skyrocketed right across the country.

Soaring oil prices once again forced Canada's inflation rate higher during March. Statistics Canada says the annual rate in March was three per cent. That's up from 2.7 per cent in February, and 2.3 per cent in January. Inflation jumped 0.7 per cent between February and March, the largest such increase since the GST was introduced in 1991. About 57 per cent of that increase was due to gasoline prices, the agency says, noting that if energy prices are removed from the mix, the inflation rate was only 1.4 per cent.

Gasoline prices rose by 38.0 per cent in March, marking the eighth consecutive month of double-digit annual increases. Fuel oil prices rose by 59.8 per cent, following a high of 63.6 per cent in February, the highest annual increase in the index since its inception in 1950.

Other price increases were reported for mortgage costs, restaurant food and tuition fees. The cost of fresh fruit and vegetables and computer equipment dropped.

The city of Halifax had the highest cost of living in March, rising 3.9 per cent over the month before. Calgary came in second with an inflation rate of 3.6 per cent in March. In Victoria, prices rose only 1.8 per cent, the smallest increase in a major Canadian city.

http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/NWview.cgi?/news/2000/04/17/inflation000417

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), April 17, 2000

Answers

I don't beging to see why there should be shortages, and therefore, rising prices for oil in Canada.

Canada is a net oil exporter. In fact, we get 10% of our imported oil from Canada.

It just doesn't make sense.

-- Uncle Fred (dogboy45@bigfoot.com), April 17, 2000.

You're right, Uncle Fred. No shortage of oil in Canada. But the petroleum industry quite happily goes along with world prices. And every time our prices at the pump go up enough to cause concern, the federal gov investigates to see whether collusion and/or price-fixing is happening. Every time, the gov concludes nothing illegal is being done.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), April 18, 2000.