In Nunavut, fuel costs aren’t climbing, but that could vary

Key takeaways: 

• Annual bulk fuel buys mean consumers aren’t subject to cost changes at the pump.
• Individuals in Nunavut hadn’t seen current fuel price growths, mainly because most of the fuel in the region was bought the previous year before prices began climbing.

While fuel costs across the nation are higher than ever, Nunavummiut are still spending among the lowest prices in Canada — but that might not be for long.

In Nunavut, the government purchases fuel in bulk and stocks it throughout the year. Fuel prices don’t fluctuate with the demand. Instead, prices are set according to what the government pays to buy. That means that Nunavummiut is purchasing fuel purchased at the previous year’s costs and not seeing the price gains elsewhere in the nation.

The region has already purchased about 71 percent of the fuel for next year’s resupply, but the remaining 29 percent should be bought.

David Joanasie, the minister of Community and Government Services, said his department is keeping an eye on the market to see when best to buy next.

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“International crude oil prices have been fluctuating wildly higher than last years,” Joanasie said. “So, we ought to be conscious of what’s going on worldwide and how affected supply chains.”

He said he couldn’t determine when the next investment will be, but predictions suggest there will probably be another expansion to fuel prices in the region in a volatile market. However, Joanasie couldn’t specify when. 

“That’s all dependent on when we purchase and how much,” he said.

The region already bumped up costs in February by eight cents per liter to help offset the stabilization fund, which is meant to adjust fluctuations in the market and help stabilize retail fuel costs.

Source – cbc.ca