As the price of fossil fuel escalates, so does the ire of the Canadian consumer.

Rising gas prices in Saskatchewan have a domino-effect throughout the local economy. Farm equipment costs more to run, prices are higher for getting goods to market, local businesses have higher overhead, and families spend more getting the kids to various events. As the summer months bring increased demand for gasoline, the numbers on the pumps flip ever higher.

During the last week of May, the average price for gas in Canada was $1.15 per litre. The highest price in the country was $1.28 in Kelowna and the lowest was $1.02 in Thunder Bay. Here at home, our prices have soared to more than $1.20 per litre. Fuel costs are doubly damaging in an area like ours where communities are spread out across the landscape and energy is required for seeding, spraying, haying and harvesting.

Simply lowering the federal tax on fuel isn’t a complete answer because the government would then have to raise taxes elsewhere. It’s a strictly cosmetic change to take money from Peter to pay Paul, and an insult to consumers’ intelligence. We are caught in an international marketplace where privately-owned companies increase price as demand rises and supply declines. The government needs to ensure our competition monitoring agency is guarding against any collusion among oil companies.

While oil and gas prices seem exorbitant when compared with a few years ago, it is cold comfort to remember that it’s still less expensive in Canada than in most parts of the world. Saskatchewan is rife with its own fossil fuels that could be developed under the auspices of the provincial government and the private sector. Hastening to become the “new Alberta” has some credibility, but it is a long-term solution.

Fuel prices haven’t been this severe since Hurricane Katrina. Our federal government saw the writing on the wall and is helping to offset high fuel costs by reducing costs elsewhere. We reduced the GST by one per cent, which has left more money in consumers’ pockets. We invested $2 billion in a renewable fuel program and introduced a $1.5 billion program to reduce greenhouse gases at the same time.

Is there a silver lining in high fuel costs for agriculture?

I believe there is. Rural areas such as ours have the potential to produce biofuels. The Honourable Gerry Ritz, Secretary of State for Small Business and Tourism, recently announced a $117,000 study in North Battleford as part of a larger national program to develop a biofuels industry. The initiative is designed to help agricultural producers create business proposals to turn crops into fuel for profit.

As our rural youth leave farming in droves for urban jobs, biofuels farming could help to stem that flow. In 1991, there were about 78,000 Canadian farm operators under the age of 35 and in 2006 there were just 30,000. Low commodity prices and poorly conceived government programs have played a role in reducing the number of young farmers by about 60 per cent. Creating a biodiesel and ethanol industry here could help stabilize our local economy and keep our young farmers at home. Growing alternative fuels isn’t a cure-all, but it certainly deserves a serious look as a potential solution.

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