The Harper government would have you believe that there is nothing they can do to control the price of fuel. They claim it is all just market forces. Well, they forget there are a number of things they can do to help those market forces along.

First and foremost, we need in the fuel market. In the US the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration publishes a weekly update on the supply and demand situation for the American market. This information helps market analysts, commentators and policy makers understand the true state of the energy market in the US. Canada had something similar, created by the Martin government in 2005; call the Office of Petroleum Price Information. Unfortunately, it was scrapped as one of the first actions of the Harper Conservatives.

The re-introduction and strengthening of such an agency could do wonders to improve the state of the Canadian energy market.