Rising gas prices are fueling a key campaign issue in Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough and Westdale. Local Liberal candidate Arlene MacFarlane-VanderBeek believes her party has the answer. She will challenge Conservative incumbent David Sweet, New Democrat Gordon Guyatt, Peter Ormond of the Green Party and JamilÈ Ghaddar of the Marxist-Leninist Party in the Oct. 14 federal election.

Ms. MacFarlane-VanderBeek held a brief media event Monday at a Westdale gas station with Liberal MP Dan McTeague, opposition critic for consumer and consular affairs. At the time of the event, gas prices were hovering around $1.38 per litre throughout Hamilton.

Ms. MacFarlane-VanderBeek said the high gas price is one of the key issues for local constituents in the upcoming election.

"It's their pocket books. That's what's at stake in this election," she said.

Ms. MacFarlane-VanderBeek and Mr. McTeague both accused the governing Conservatives of turning a blind eye to the dramatic price increases that have greatly outpaced surges in the U.S. Mr. McTeague, an oil industry analyst, said Canadian prices are inflated by as much as 22 cents per litre.

"In my wildest dreams I could not have conceived these prices would have been passed on to the consumer," Mr. McTeague said.

To help relieve the gas pains, Mr. McTeague said a Liberal government will create an office of petroleum price information.

When it was first conceived by the previous Liberal government, the office of petroleum price information was designed to strengthen Canada's competition bureau and discourage collusion. Mr. McTeague said the office will hold oil companies more accountable for price increases that are often blamed on natural disasters, such as hurricane Ike.

Under its Green Shift carbon tax plan, the Liberal party would tax household energy consumption, excluding gasoline, with offsetting personal income tax reductions.

Mr. McTeague also called upon the government to decrease the goods and service tax on gasoline. Like most other consumer goods, gas is taxed at a rate of five per cent.

But Conservative MP David Sweet said a Competition Bureau probe that resulted in charges against 13 individuals and 11 companies accused of fixing gas prices in four Quebec markets, shows him there is already a federal organization successfully pursuing gas price gougers.

"They are continuing that probe," Mr. Sweet said Tuesday morning.

He noted his government has already cut the GST, one of several taxes charged on gas, by two cents.

Mr. Sweet also questioned the Liberal party's suggestion to cut gas taxes when they are planning to introduce a "carbon tax" that, Mr. Sweet said, will drive fuel prices further up.

The incumbent Member of Parliament for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale said Prime Minister Stephen Harper has expressed his concern over gas prices and will make an announcement on the subject later in the campaign.

Green Party candidate Peter Ormond said Canadians need to shift their focus to sustainable energy while breaking the dependency on foreign oil. He noted fluctuating oil and gas prices are nothing new and Canadians should expect further increases because oil is not a sustainable technology.

"I think the time is now to move beyond debate and start investing in local solutions," Mr. Ormond said.

He identified sustainable solutions such as car sharing, using renewable energy and investing in local agriculture. The Greens are also proposing a carbon cap and trade system and a carbon tax shift under the party's Vision Green platform. In comparison to the Liberal Green Shift plan, Vision Green would tax non-renewable energy, including gasoline, with offsetting personal income tax reductions.

In response to the Liberal announcement on Monday, New Democrat Gordon Guyatt said increased regulation is needed to stop price gouging.

"They need more than information, he said, referring to the proposed office of petroleum price information. "They need regulatory control."

He also touted the NDP's cap and trade emissions plan which would target industrial polluters, rather than consumers.

Mr. Guyatt said the plan will focus on capping the emissions of about 700 companies that collectively produce 50 per cent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions. Mr. Guyatt also dismissed the Liberal call to reduce the GST on gasoline.

"It is ironic that the Liberals would be discussing reducing taxes on gasoline at the same time as they're introducing a carbon tax," Mr. Guyatt said.

Marxist-Leninist candidate JamilÈ Ghaddar said high prices are the result of government enforced monopolies.

"The MLPC's view is that thee issue of high gas prices is a problem of monopoly right which our governments enforce," she stated in an e-mail. "We need governments which provide the rights of the people with a guarantee."

* * *

Hidden gas taxes in cents/litre

Federal excise tax: 10¢

Provincial tax (Ontario): 14.7¢

Goods and Services tax: 5¢

Total: 29.7¢