Ontario MPP's bill looks to protect gas station workers, customers from fuel theft amid climbing prices

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As drivers in Ontario continue to experience record-high gas prices across the province, one MPP hopes his prepayment bill will protect employees and customers at the pump from fuel theft.

“When somebody steals gas, they’re going to put their foot on the pedal. They’re not going to look around,” MPP for Mississauga-Malton Deepak Anand told CTV News Toronto on Thursday.

Anand said that Ontario sees roughly 150 gas thefts every day and at least four deaths related to those incidents have occurred in the last several years. Those deaths include a customer, an employee, and someone allegedly trying to get away with a full tank without paying.

“All of these deaths were 100 per cent preventable,” he said.

Bill 231, Protecting Ontarians by Enhancing Gas Station Safety to Prevent Gas and Dash Act, was introduced in 2020.

The bill, which would require customers to pay at the pump before filling up, received unanimous consent, passed a second reading and was supposed to be referred to Ontario’s Standing Committee on Social Policy but could not proceed further after the legislative session collapsed in the fall of 2021.

Fast forward to March of 2022 and the cost of gas is currently hovering between $1.79 and $1.90 per litre -- prices never before seen in Ontario.

At the same time, gas station “drive off” thefts are on the rise, according to the Ontario Convenience Stores Association (OCSA). In fact, OCSA CEO Dave Bryans told CTV News Toronto earlier this week that some gas stations are seeing as many as two and three drive offs a week.

Most gas stations currently offer the option to pay at the pump before filling up your car. But Anand believes that the proposed measure would help to further prevent theft while keeping employees and customers safe.

If reelected in June, Anand said he plans to put the private member’s bill forward once again if it's selected through the provincial’s government’s lottery system.