Just in case our friends south of the border didn’t know, Ontario has a gas “crisis” of sorts going on.

It all started with a fire at a refinery in Nanticoke and has not been helped by winter storms and a CN Rail strike. Here’s what CTV says to sum it up:

A gasoline shortage that started with Imperial Oil’s Esso stations in southern Ontario is spreading to competing companies as efforts to restablish fuel supplies are hampered by weather.

A winter storm on Monday delayed repairs to Imperial Oil’s Nanticoke refinery, which was hit by a fire two weeks ago. That incident cut production at the plant in half.

The problem, which was made worse by the recent CN Rail strike and a December fire at another Imperial Oil refinery in Sarnia, Ont., has started to force other companies to ration gasoline at the pumps. In some instances, pumps are being shut off because they have no fuel to sell.

Now Canadian Tire, Petro-Canada and Shell Canada stations are feeling the squeeze, which is in addition to closures by Imperial Oil.

What does this mean?

• I have seen quite a few gas stations with the listed price of 0.00 to signify the pumps are dry.
• The stations that are open are selling for about $0.96 per litre. This is up from before the fire, but not as high as it was during the “Katrina Gas Shortage.”
• Supposedly, there have been reports of lots of cars stranded on the sides of roads with empty tanks. This I haven’t seen.
• People are raging on radio and TV about how politicians are doing nothing while the oil companies screw us (in basically those words).
• Related to the above point, people are asking why are all the stations (different companies) raising their prices when it is only Imperial Oil that had the fire. (Apparently, they all get gas from the same refineries.)

Is this making people re-think their ways or be a little smarter with how they use energy (ie drive)? I am not sure, but maybe it will have a positive effect when people get even more frustrated. I have heard more people saying maybe we do have to learn to loosen the grip oil has on us.

Or, Ontario will forgive and forget and gas up for summer when gas is flowing like Niagara Falls.

Photo and Quote: CTV.