Gas prices in Sudbury have jumped by ten cents a litre in many locales, as Ontario heads into a long weekend | CBC News

Sam Cooper said she would carpool around Sudbury if it meant saving money from gas.

“It’s unfortunate, but it’s something that I prepared for financially,” she said.

She added this week’s prices made it harder to depend on driving.

“It’s difficult because in Sudbury, you need a car to go everywhere and unfortunately you have to pay the gas.”

According to gas pricing map website GasBuddy, Sudbury’s prices jumped by almost ten cents per litre this week, up to a high at some station of 172.6.

Glenn Levesque recently went to a Mobil station along Lorne Street to fill up on gas.

“It’s ironic because the first thing I looked at was the price,” he said.

Levesque says he lives in his car, adding the expense is harder for him as a person with severe arthritis trying to survive on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).

“It’s part of my life. When you’re living out of your car and have to get around, it’s very difficult to get by with these high gas prices. How do we affect change?”

Facing different realities

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) released its annual Gas Tax Honesty Report this week and said taxes make up over a third of overall pump prices in Ontario.

The published report added the carbon, transit, provincial and federal sales tax added up to 40 per cent of the pump price across Ontario.

“When you have the pump, you see the price, you don’t see how much of it is taxes,” said Jay Goldberg, Ontario director of the CTF.

“But if you’re living in Sudbury, Timmins, or North Bay, it’s simply not a reality that you can jump on transit or walk everywhere,” he said.

“So I think it’s really important governments recognise that people live in different regions and face different realities.”