At the end of January, the price of a barrel of oil was at $44.38 and gas here in Sherwood Park was retailing for under $0.73 ($0.724 was the lowest I saw).

Since then we have experienced price increase fluctuations way in excess of the decreases.

Today, oil is trading for $45.02, less than a dollar higher than its low, but gasoline is presently retailing at $0.849.

I've often wondered how the oil companies got away with so-called collusion when prices across the board are equal, but now it is very plain what happens.

"You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" seems to be the unwritten rule between government and the oil giants.

The initial drastic decrease in gas prices obviously meant a considerable shortfall in taxation for the government and only by promoting or agreeing to a substantial increase could they hope to reduce their budget downside.

It also helps to explain why the oil companies ensure themselves of no interference during regular times and why the price never varies from supplier to supplier.

By knowing the tax available ahead of time based on minimum consumption, the bureaucrats can easily calculate and rely on a tax number they can use for budget purposes.

Imagine the work involved trying to calculate the taxes on numbers that differed.

"We live in interesting times"

Good Luck to all!