The Nova Scotia Gas Station Profits Support Act

Gas price regulation comes to N.S.:

Filling up at the pump will cost drivers about the same anywhere in Nova Scotia under gas price regulations that take effect this weekend. As of July 1, the price of self-serve gasoline across the province will be fixed for two weeks at a time.

Ah, Dan McTeague's wet-dream! At last, government steps in to prevent consumers from being ripped off! Um, not exactly.

Premier Rodney MacDonald says regulating gas prices will mean less volatility at the pumps and a guaranteed profit for retailers, but not lower prices... "Many retailers are looking to have that guaranteed margin and that's important for their long-term stability and for keeping a number of stations around rural Nova Scotia."

Guaranteed profits for gas stations! Now there's a slogan you can rally around. UPDATE: In fact, if you read McTeague's stuff, that's what he's on about, too. It's not a price ceiling he wants, but a price floor, the better to protect the profit margins of "independent" retailers. Because -- stay with me -- if we didn't prop up prices to support the independents, the majors would cut prices, which would lead to higher prices in the long run, because the independents -- the ones we're propping up prices for -- are the only ones who can compete with the majors. Who are all in cahoots. Well, them and the Trilateral Commission.