With our Salute to the Sockeye celebrations underway, the Shuswap is once again being treated to the highest gas prices in the region.
This should come as no surprise to Salmon Arm and Sicamous residents, many of whom seem resigned to paying whatever petroleum companies deem we should be paying, regardless of whether it’s just or good for the local economy. To others, however, it’s highway robbery. As of last Thursday, while residents of the two Shuswap municipalities were paying 137.9 per litre, folks in Enderby and Vernon were paying 129.9. And Kamloops – are you sitting down? Kamloops was paying 120.9.
Meanwhile, the price per barrel has been going down.
Once again, no surprises – nothing new to see here. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t get angry. A fellow came into the Observer office in a fit over the disparity Salmon Arm residents face at the pump. While voicing his frustration, city council was reviewing the 2015 budget, discussing a 1.9 per cent tax increase. The day prior, the Shuswap Community Foundation released its Vital Signs report which, among other things, notes there is a “significant gap between the rich and the poor in this community,” and that “wages for entry level jobs are quite low, which pushes people away to larger communities.”
Life in the Shuswap is already a costly proposition. The price at the pump only further aggravates an already difficult situation.