Massive price hike is a minor inconvenience By: Editorial Posted: 7:00 PM CST Monday, Mar. 7, 2022

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/03/2022 (927 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine suddenly hit home for many Winnipeg families last week when pump prices for motor fuel shot up above $1.60 a litre. Economic sanctions aimed at stopping Russian aggression drove the world oil price to US$118.40 a barrel last week, up from $US76.08 in early January, and retail prices here suddenly responded last week.

The sharp increase in the price for a tank of gas seems like a hardship to most motorists, but the hardship needs to be seen in context. The primary victims of Russia’s aggression are the people of Ukraine, who are being driven from their homes and murdered in their streets by the Russian army. The sacrifice exacted from Manitoba motorists is slight by comparison.

Why should we pay more for gasoline because of a war in distant Ukraine? Russia is a huge exporter of oil and oil products. Income from those exports finances the Russian economy and the war machine that rests upon it. Russian President Vladimir Putin must learn the hard way, since he will not listen to reasoned argument, that the world will not stand for a return to jungle law in international relations.

A total of 141 countries at the United Nations General Assembly last week voted to tell Russia to immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its military forces from Ukraine. Russia and a tiny band of dictatorships – Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria – voted against.

The world spoke. Putin laughed, because the United Nations General Assembly commands no army and wields no club. The trading nations of the world, however, hold Russia’s prosperity in their hands. Canada, the United States and western Europe have agreed to sever Russia’s trading privileges so as to stop the war. Hence the rise in Winnipeg gasoline prices.

The other way would be to send the military forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) countries to wage war against Russia on Ukrainian territory. That would entail far greater destruction than is now being inflicted on Ukraine. It could lead to an exchange of nuclear weapons between Russia and the western allies, bringing death and destruction beyond anything the world has ever seen.

In this context, an extra 50 cents or so for each litre of motor fuel should be accepted as the lesser evil – a tolerable alternative to warfare.

The price increase for motor fuel is going to keep rippling through the economy, pushing up prices for all the consumer goods that come by truck to our stores or to our doors – that is to say, almost everything consumers buy. This will be a source of continuing distress, but it is still a whole lot better than going to war.

For the sake of all countries, it must be made plain that no president, no prime minister, no despot is free to send an army to subjugate a neighbouring country just because they think they can get away with it. If Mr. Putin is free to take Ukraine from the Ukrainians, why would he not be free to take the Canadian Arctic from the Canadians?

The UN General Assembly said it in words, but words were not enough. Words are not all we have: we also have markets and trade. When you refuse to trade with a supplier, you have to do without. The world will have to do without Russian oil and rely on other sources until Russia listens to reason.