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Bill 91, Fairness in Petroleum Products Pricing Act, 2022

Bisson, Gilles

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Status

Debates

Original

Bill 91 Original (PDF)

EXPLANATORY

NOTE

The

Bill regulates the price of petroleum products. The Ontario Energy Board is

given power to regulate the retail price and wholesale mark-up with respect to

the sale of petroleum products in the Province. The Lieutenant Governor in

Council is given power to govern the Board’s power. The Board and the

Lieutenant Governor in Council are guided by the following objectives:

1. To

protect the interests of consumers with respect to the predictable and

consistent retail pricing of petroleum products.

2. To

prevent pricing practices that undermine the stability and competitiveness of

retail markets for petroleum products, including retail markets in remote,

rural and northern areas.

3. To

ensure transparency and reasonableness with respect to the prices of petroleum

products.

Bill 91 2022

Act to regulate the price of petroleum products

CONTENTS

Definitions

Powers

of Board

Retailers

cannot sell beyond maximum retail prices

Duty

to keep records and documents

Complaints

and inquiries

Contractual

term of no effect

Inspectors

Inspections

Administrative

penalty

Legislation

Act, 2006,

Part III

Offence

and penalty

Commencement

Short

title

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Definitions

1 In this Act,

“Board”

means the Ontario Energy Board; (“Commission”)

“mark-up”

means, with respect to the retail price of a petroleum product, the difference

between the wholesale price paid by the retailer and the retail price charged

to the consumer; (“marge bénéficiaire”)

“Minister”

means the Minister of Energy or such other member of the Executive Council as

may be assigned the administration of this Act under the Executive

Council Act ; (“ministre”)

“order”

means an order made under this Act; (“ordonnance”)

“petroleum

product” means gasoline or diesel oil used primarily in internal combustion

engines, and includes any furnace oil or stove oil that may be prescribed; (“produit

pétrolier”)

“regulations”

means the regulations made under this Act; (“règlements”)

“retailer”

means a person who sells a petroleum product directly to consumers or keeps a

petroleum product for sale directly to consumers; (“détaillant ”)

“wholesaler”

means a person who sells a petroleum product to a retailer for purposes of

resale by the retailer to consumers or keeps a petroleum product for sale to a

retailer for purposes of resale by the retailer to consumers. ( “grossiste”)

Powers

of Board

(1) The Board may, by order, and in accordance

with the regulations made under subsection (3), if any,

(

a) fix

the weekly maximum retail price of a petroleum product; and

(

b) fix

the weekly minimum mark-up that applies in relation to the retail price fixed

under clause (a).

Different

prices and mark-ups for different areas

(2) The

Board may fix different maximum retail prices and minimum mark-ups for

different areas of the Province under subsection (1).

Regulations

(3) The

Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations governing the fixing of

weekly maximum retail prices and weekly minimum mark-ups, including by

prescribing weekly maximum retail prices, weekly minimum mark-ups and areas of

the Province.

Objectives

(4) An

exercise of discretion under this

section shall be guided by the following

objectives:

1. To

protect the interests of consumers with respect to the predictable and

consistent retail pricing of petroleum products.

2. To

prevent pricing practices that undermine the stability and competitiveness of

retail markets for petroleum products, including retail markets in remote, rural

and northern areas.

3. To

ensure transparency and reasonableness with respect to the prices of petroleum

products.

Retailers

cannot sell beyond maximum retail prices

(1) No retailer shall sell a petroleum product

at a price greater than the maximum retail price

fixed by the Board under clause 2 (1) (a).

Wholesalers

cannot sell beyond minimum mark-ups

(2) No

wholesaler shall sell a petroleum product to a retailer at a price that does

not allow for the minimum mark-up fixed by the

Board under clause 2 (1) (b) .

Duty

to keep records and documents

(1) Every wholesaler and retailer shall keep

records of each sale of a petroleum product, including such records and

documents as the Board may require.

Records

and documents to be kept for certain period

(2) The

wholesaler and the retailer shall keep the records and documents required under

subsection (1) for a period of at least five years after the sale unless the

Board determines otherwise.

Complaints

and inquiries

5 The Board may,

(

a) receive

complaints concerning conduct that may be in contravention of

section 3; and

(

b) make

inquiries, gather information and attempt to resolve complaints, as

appropriate, concerning any matter that comes to its attention that may be in

contravention of

section 3.

Contractual

term of no effect

6 Any term in a contract that permits a wholesaler or

retailer to sell a petroleum product at a price in contravention of this Act is

of no force and effect.

Inspectors

(1) The Board may appoint inspectors for the

purposes of this Act.

Certificate

of appointment

(2) The

Board shall issue a certificate of appointment to every inspector appointed

under subsection (1).

Inspections

(1) An inspector may, without warrant, conduct

inspections by,

(

a) entering

at any reasonable time any business premises owned or operated by a wholesaler

or retailer in relation to the sale of a petroleum product;

(

b) inquiring

into all matters relating to the sale of a petroleum product;

(

c) requiring

the production of any records or other documents relating to the sale of a

petroleum product; and

(

d) examining

any records or other documents relating to the sale of a petroleum product and

making copies of them.

Identification

(2) In

conducting an inspection under this section, the inspector shall, upon request,

produce his or her certificate of appointment.

Duty

to assist

(3) In

exercising powers under this section, the inspector may require a wholesaler or

retailer or their officers, directors or employees to give all reasonable

assistance to the inspector.

Copying

(4) The

inspector may, on giving a receipt, remove any document or record described in

subsection (1) for the purpose of making copies or extracts, and shall promptly

return the document or record and obtain a written acknowledgment of its

return.

Documents

in electronic form

(5) If

a document or record is kept in electronic form, the inspector may make a copy

of it or require that a copy of it be provided to him or her on paper or in a

machine-readable medium, or both.

Dwellings

(6) This

section does not authorize an inspector to enter a room or place actually used

as a dwelling without the consent of the occupier.

Administrative

penalty

(1) Subject to the regulations made under

subsection (5), if the Board is satisfied that a retailer or wholesaler has

contravened

section 3, the Board may make an order requiring the retailer or

wholesaler, as the case may be, to pay an administrative penalty not exceeding

$100,000 for each day or part of a day on which the contravention occurred or continues.

Purpose

(2) The

purpose of an administrative penalty is to promote compliance with this Act,

the regulations and the orders.

Increase

in amount of penalty

(3) The

Board may increase the administrative penalty that a person is required to pay

under this

section by an amount equal to the monetary benefit that was acquired

by, or accrued to, the person as a result of the contravention.

offence to be charged if penalty is paid

(4) If

a retailer or wholesaler who is required by an order under subsection (1) to

pay an administrative penalty in respect of a contravention pays the amount of

the penalty in accordance with the order, the retailer or wholesaler, as the

case may be, shall not be charged with an offence in respect of the

contravention.

Regulations

(5) The

Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations,

(

a) prescribing

circumstances in which a retailer or wholesaler is not required to pay an

administrative penalty or may be able to pay a reduced penalty;

(

b) respecting

procedures applicable to the imposition of administrative penalties, including

providing for reviews of an order made by the Board under subsection (1) or

requiring a hearing by the Board before imposing administrative penalties;

(

c) respecting

any other matter necessary for the administration of a system of penalties

provided for by this section.

Legislation Act, 2006 ,

Part III

Part III (Regulations) of the Legislation

Act, 2006 does not apply to orders made by the Board.

Offence

and penalty

(1) Every wholesaler or retailer who sells a

petroleum product at a price in contravention of

section 3 is guilty of an

offence and on conviction is liable to a fine not exceeding $500,000.

Same

(2) Where

an offence described in subsection (1) is committed by a person on more than

one day or is continued for more than one day, each day on which the offence is

committed or continued constitutes a separate offence.

Commencement

12 This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal

Assent.

Short

title

13 The

short title of this Act is the Fairness

in Petroleum Products Pricing Act, 2022 .

Date Bill stage Event Outcome Committee

April 14, 2022

Second Reading

Vote

Lost on division

April 13, 2022

Second Reading

Deferred vote

April 13, 2022

Second Reading

Debated

March 2, 2022

First Reading

Vote

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

March 2, 2022

Committee

Second Reading

April 13, 2022

Mr. John Vanthof, Mr. Stephen Crawford, Mr. Michael Mantha, Mr. Will Bouma, Mr. Jamie West, Mme France Gélinas, Ms. Catherine Fife, Mr. Sol Mamakwa

Vote deferred.

April 14, 2022

Lost on division.

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent

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