this post was submitted on 30 Apr 2026
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[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 8 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

The suggestion here is that the prices rose because the tax was lifted? That seems pretty easily refuted by looking at international news.

[–] P1k1e@lemmy.world 15 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

No I'm pretty sure it's just saying the tax cut didn't do anything at all. Oils still going up, but the cut made zero difference

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 7 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

I mean, it's still 10 cents per litre less than it would have been had the tax not been lifted...unless the implication is that the price wouldn't have gone up without the tax reduction (which is pretty obviously not true).

I don't like the tax being lifted - I think it's largely populist nonsense - but it's at least a little dishonest to say there's no difference at all.

[–] LostWon@lemmy.ca 1 points 29 minutes ago (1 children)

There is an argument for that possibility actually, but it obviously can't be proven with 100% certainty since we can't know what specific factors went into the pricing decision. When businesses know ordinary people are willing and able to spend more money (and in this case they did, because people were already spending more on the taxed amount), they often raise their prices accordingly. Algorithmic pricing is the trial-and-error version of this same propensity in other industries with oligopolies or cartels.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 1 points 25 minutes ago (1 children)

It would be a far more compelling argument if gas prices were only rising in Canada, where taxes been lifted. But that ain't the case.

[–] LostWon@lemmy.ca 1 points 7 minutes ago* (last edited 7 minutes ago)

Although it's quite possible it could have been an earlier price hike than necessary (to maintain the same profit at that location), I do concede that's difficult to prove. Post-Covid "greedflation" was a prominent example that there can be widespread opportunism around economic shocks, so I'm always watching for the possibility this will recur.

[–] cybermass@lemmy.ca 6 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I think that's what the original post was implying but yeah it's two fold.

  1. Tax cut won't lower prices, it will just increase company profit margins
  2. Prices went up because of Iran war

Only way to reduce prices is to reduce demand. Small modular nuclear reactors are the way and we have companies in Canada working on them yet I don't hear of any government help in those projects.

[–] Upperhand@lemmy.world 2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

How is a small nuclear reactor going to run cars? This is coming from an ev driver. How about investing in our own oil industry, because, let's be honest, it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Instead we send our oil to be refined elsewhere then buying it back at high rates and hurt us, just do it in our own country and sell it abroad, especially since we have the 4th largest oil reserves on the planet. Lowering fuel costs lower costs of a lot of things as long as we actually hold companies responsible. And before you say everyone just get evs, they are expensive and not a lot can get one.

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 6 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

What we should actually be doing is nationalizing our oil industry, and then using the money it produces to fund a transition towards clean energy. Of course, that's never going to happen under neoliberalism.

[–] Upperhand@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Sadly, that won't happen with anyone. People are corruptible. It would have to be a system that can't be used for financial gain for any one individual or group. But I agree with you nonetheless. The worst part is that it wouldn't be all that hard, but the ones in charge will not relinquish for our betterment.

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 hours ago

I mean look at China successfully transitioning towards clean energy using state owned enterprise. These things are certainly possible to do. The problem is that our political system creates all the wrong incentives.