The Alberta Government’s Pre-Pay at the Pumps legislation has been in effect for just over a month now (since June 1, 2018) and some of the unintended consequences are becoming apparent.
Bill 19: An Act to Protect Gas and Convenience Store Workers put forward by Minister of Labour Christina Gray, is a reaction to several ‘gas and dash’ incidents that occurred in Alberta. It puts into law that a customer must pay before acquiring any fuel at a retail fuelling location, including propane for vehicles and cylinders. The issue of filling cylinders has become a particular customer inconvenience and was discussed at the last Alberta Committee meeting held June 21 in Red Deer.
At the request of Alberta members, the CPA raised the issue with the government to determine if there was any flexibility to allow gases measured and sold by weight to be exempted. The Department of Labour understood the inconvenience but remains steadfast that no exemptions have been envisioned at this time. They suggest that retailers create standing accounts with individuals using their services, set up remote pay systems or use two-way radios so that the filler could communicate with the cashier to have the transaction completed when the customer returned to the cashier.
The CPA will continue to monitor the application of Bill 19. Members can submit their questions or concerns to Darren Cunningham, Director, Government Relations, West at darrencunningham@propane.ca. The feedback received will be compiled into a document of proposed amendments to the Pre-Pay at the Pump law.