B.C. driver tries to sue companies over 'inordinately high' gas prices

A driver who'd had enough of British Columbia's rising gas prices attempted to sue the companies he felt were behind the costs.

With a legal team, Antonio Pantusa represented himself and other consumers in a class-action battle against Parkland Fuel Corporation, Suncor Energy Incorporated, Imperial Oil Limited, Shell Canada Limited and Husky Energy Incorporated.

The case was heard in January, and a judgment was issued via videoconference last week. 

Court documents that summarize the judge's reasoning say that Pantusa claimed the price for gas over the last seven years in B.C. has been "inordinately high," something the plaintiff attributed to the "unconscionable pricing practices" of the companies named in the suit.

Those companies are the refiners and wholesale marketers of most of the gas sold on the West Coast.

Pantusa's lawyers told the court the defendants had been "systematically overcharging" their customers, who then pass on those high costs to drivers.

He sought damages to compensate himself and other drivers for the alleged overcharge, court documents said. The other drivers all purchased gas in B.C. for personal use between Jan. 1, 2015, and the date of the suit.

In his notice of civil claim, Pantusa said the defendants abused their position of control over the market through the use of two surcharges.

The case was in court as Pantusa tried to get it certified as a class proceeding.

The court heard that Pantusa planned to cite a report commissioned by the provincial government and conducted by the B.C. Utilities Commission on gasoline and diesel prices. That report came from a direction from the province to look into why exactly prices are so high – other than due to provincially imposed taxes – and found an unexplained discrepancy between prices across Canada and in different parts of the province.

The report was published in 2019.

Lawyers for the gas companies, however, applied for a summary judgment in their favour, telling the court that Pantusa's claims were "demonstrably without merit."

Each company gave affidavits to explain how prices are determined, and denied any agreement between them about pricing.

Their evidence included, as summarized by the judge who heard the case, that, "rack prices are generally tied to local benchmarks at major American trading and production hubs. The (Pacific Northwest) spot price is the main determinant of wholesale prices in the Vancouver area, but elsewhere in British Columbia prices are set based on the spot price at other hubs, such as Chicago or the American Gulf Coast."

Comparing B.C. to the rest of Canada, the companies said the province's low carbon fuel standards are the most stringent in the country.

Additionally, they told the court, "Although wholesale prices are based on local rack rates, wholesale customers usually negotiate lower prices based on their own particular circumstances. These contract prices are generally not published and never shared among the defendants.

"The defendants have varying involvement in the retail market. Some of them supply affiliated retail gas stations, where retail prices are generally set by independent operators at those sites."

Economists weighed in on the case and were cross-examined, and the judge applied the certification test, which includes several requirements that must be met before a class proceeding can go forward.

In the end, in a ruling made March 2, the judge sided with the defendants, saying there was no evidence to support Pantusa's "pleaded allegations of conspiracy… or the related claim alleging a breach of the Competition Act."

Justice Warren B. Milman told the parties, "Indeed, the defendants' uncontroverted evidence expressly refutes those allegations, as do the BCUC reports."

Thus the defendants' application was allowed, Pantusa's was refused and the action was dismissed.

The judgment was read during what was a record-breaking week for gas prices in parts of the province, including in Metro Vancouver, where prices reached beyond $2 per litre for the first time ever.

By Sunday, some stations were charging 209.9 cents in the area. 

An analyst tells CTV News that drivers may be paying even more later in the week as factors including the Russia-Ukraine conflict drive up prices.