Nova Scotia to Regulate Gas Prices
HALIFAX (CP) - Nova Scotia will regulate gasoline and diesel fuel prices, beginning July 1.
Service Nova Scotia Minister Richard Hurlburt said Wednesday the responsibility for setting prices for fuel will be left to the province's Utility and Review Board after a hearing process this fall. Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations will act as the interim regulator until the review board process is in place.
"Nova Scotians want more stable gas prices and they want to know those prices are justified," Hurlburt said in a release.
"Nova Scotia will soon be the only province east of Ontario that does not regulate gasoline and that's a reality we have to respond to."
Nova Scotia's system will be based on the Prince Edward Island model, but will contain some adjustments.
Premier Rodney MacDonald said the decision was made "in the best interest of Nova Scotians" and to small, independent gas retailers.
However, he cautioned that regulation won't mean the end of high fuel prices.
"I have said from Day 1 that this does not mean lower prices, but we will do everything we can to keep those prices as close to what they are today as possible," he said.
Regulation will hold prices steady over two-week intervals and consumers will be told when they are about to change.
Nova Scotia becomes the last Atlantic province to regulate fuel prices. A litre of regular was selling Wednesday for about $1.15 a litre in the Halifax area.
Hurlburt said the regulatory regime will be reviewed annually.
