ALMOST ALWAYS HIGHER: Gas stations around BC tell the story we all know too well – gas here is much more expensive than elsewhere in BC and in Canada. The only higher regular unleaded price we could find was in Masset, on Haida Gwaii, at $1.64.9 per litre. Photos by Lot Sparham
Guzzled BY PIETA WOOLLEY | pieta@prliving.ca
T
his month Powell River votes in a Federal election. Transportation is not at the top of the issues list (at press time, it was Justin Trudeau’s blackface apology). But here, it should be a top-of-mind concern for rabble-rousing voters. While this government has generously contributed to transit infrastructure in Vancouver – $2.6 billion in 2016-2018 alone, largely for SkyTrain – here, the feds have not stepped up. We are isolated and most of us re-
main car- and ferry-dependant. Also, there has been no federal action on gas prices, though Canadian pump prices skyrocketed 26 percent from 2015 to 2019. When prices jumped back in 1975, then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau partially nationalized Canada’s gasoline industry, and created Petro-Canada. The program was not a success. Yet some are calling for a smarter, more Scandinavian nationalization of the oil and gas industry for the 21st century. Sadly, I couldn’t cover everything in the following few pages. But I hope it inspires you to learn more.
Nearly the highest gas prices in Canada, limited public transit, and an extraordinarily expensive ferry as the only public way out. With a federal election looming this month, PRL proposes that transportation here is a crisis – for the planet, for our small businesses and for our household sanity. We need our elected representatives to act: federal, provincial and local.
Join us Sunday, October 13th at the Garden Court Restaurant
BRUNCH BUFFET – 10AM to 2PM Fruit Salad, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon & Sausages, Crushed Yukon Gold Hash Brown Potatoes Waffles with Strawberries & Whipped Cream Slow-Roasted Chicken Thigh, White Wine & Herb Cream, Garlic Mashed Potato, Garden Salad, Roasted Autumn Vegetables Pumpkin Pie & Whipped Cream
Available October 4th
Adults $18.95 | Seniors $16.95 | Children 5–11 $14.95
DINNER BUFFET – 4PM to 8PM
same day
pick up
Caesar & Garden Salad, Warm Bread Rolls, Butter & Parmesan Baked Spaghetti Squash Herb Crusted Cod Fillet, Pork & Apricot Stuffing, Garlic & Herb Roasted Baby Potatoes
P PICK U
Roast Turkey, Home-made Turkey Gravy Pumpkin Pie & Whipped Cream Plus Assorted Tarts
fast. easy. fresh.
Adults $24.95 | Seniors $22.95 | Children 5–11 $19.95
604.485.3000
saveonfoods.com
RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED
prtowncentrehotel.com
Available at select Save-On-Foods locations only. Minimum order $40 excluding applicable taxes and fees.
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POWELL RIVER LIVING • october 2019 •
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