In response to a request made under Canada’s Access to Information law, I received today some of the “House Cards” prepared in April, 2007 for then-Industry Minister Maxime Bernier. “House Cards” are prepared daily by departmental staff to prepare the Minister with a suggested answer and background information for questions they might received that day during Question Period in the House of Commons. Most departments prepare these House Cards daily even when Parliament isn’t sitting, in case pesky journalists ask about this issue or that issue.
I had asked on May 23, 2007 for the House Cards prepared in April for Bernier. After much review by government officials, I finally received the heavily censored 37 pages of Bernier’s April “House Cards.”
Here’s one: On Thursday, April 19, an unknown bureaucrat at the Competition Bureau prepared a House Card to answer this question: What is the Government doing to address the high price of gasoline?
The minister’s suggested response is entirely blacked out — a section of the Access to Information Act allows bureaucrats to black out anything that remotely resembles “advice to the Minister” and a ‘suggested response’ qualifies as ‘advice’ — but there is some interesting background provided to the Minister. Here is that background:
Since 1972, the Bureau investigations in gasoline and heating oil have led to 13 trials lnvolving local price maintenance, eight of which resulted in convictions. The Bureau also conducted six major investigations into allegations of collusion and other anti-competitive behaviour since 1990. In each of these investigations, the Bureau found no evidence to suggest that periodic price increases resulted from a national conspiracy to limit competition in gasoline supply, or from abusive behaviour by
dominant firms in the market Instead, it found that market forces such as supply and demand and rising crude oil prices caused the price spikes.On June 2.2006, the Commissioner of Competition confirmed that the Competition Bureau was investigating allegations of price fixing between competitors in the retail gasoline industry in local markets in the province of Quebec. The investigation is ongoing.
High prices during volatile market conditions are not contrary to the Act. However, agreements among competitors to artificiall fix or raise prices unduly are prohibited under the criminal conspiracy provisions of the Act. The provisions are strictly enforced by the Bureauat all times.
MP Dan McTeague recently blamed closures of refineries in Canada for current shortages in supply and high gasoline prices. Recent supply problems are due to unforeseen events including a fire at the Nanticoke refinery and limited transportation alternatives for refined products.