Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley says many residents, including himself, are growing increasingly frustrated by high gas prices locally.
He's penned a letter to Ontario Energy Minister Stephen Lecce, asking for an explanation.
According to Gas Buddy, the price of regular fuel in Sarnia was sitting at around $1.88 per litre, as of Thursday afternoon.
In cities like Chatham, London, Woodstock and St. Catharines they were paying around $1.82.
Goderich residents were being charged about $1.79.
Bradley said it's a problem that's been going on for decades and there should be uniformity across Ontario.
"In Sarnia-Lambton, where we make and manufacture gasoline, our costs are higher for the consumer compared to other places in Ontario right now particularly, with what's going on with affordability," said Bradley. "The question for the minister is whether he's aware of this, and what steps can be taken to help the people of Sarnia-Lambton."
Bradley said the upper tier governments haven't given proper answers when the issue was brought up in the past.
"In the past, both from government and from the industry, there's usually a very convoluted response that makes it very difficult for anyone to accept any responsibility to help us deal with a major affordability crisis for Canadians this summer," said Bradley.
Bradley said taxation on gasoline, provincially and federally, is the essence of the issue.
"We make the product here, and we should at least be competitive as it relates to what we pay as consumers in Sarnia-Lambton," said Bradley. "The joke I used to use many years ago was that the reason it costs more in Sarnia-Lambton is because it's fresher. That's not funny right now when people are dealing with affordability and the government has the means to make sure the people in Sarnia-Lambton are paying the same for gas as in places like Ottawa, Thunder Bay or Cornwall."
Meanwhile, the federal government has suspended the fuel excise tax until September 7.
The fuel tax holiday was estimated to save Canadians $2.4 billion, but so far has had a minimal impact when it comes to savings for the consumer.
As of Friday, Bradley was still awaiting a response to his concerns.
