For people on modest incomes who have to travel many kilometers by car every day, soaring fuel prices are a source of anxiety and deprivation.
Joany Deslandes remembers with a certain nostalgia the time when, a few months ago, she filled up for fifty dollars. While the price of a liter of gasoline exceeds $1.90, filling the tank of his Jeep cost him this week nearly $80. This increase has a major impact on the budget of the single mother of two teenagers, since she now fills up three times a week.
This Longueuil resident began a return to full-time studies in August 2020, having been admitted to Cégep de Granby in industrial engineering technology, a program that is only offered in a handful of college establishments. “I knew I would have to tighten my belt for these three years of study, but I didn’t think I would tighten it so much,” she admits.
Since classes have resumed face-to-face, she has to travel 160 kilometers a day, not counting visits to her boyfriend in Chambly and trips requested by her two children. That’s nearly $240 a week that could be swallowed up by gas costs.
She must support her family on student financial assistance of $485 a month, which has shrunk by more than half since last year, and less than $20,000 in employment income, earned by working l summer and on Saturdays.
“I make sure my children eat a meal that makes sense and I sometimes eat cereal or toast for supper,” continues the 30-year-old.
In an attempt to make ends meet, Mr.me Deslandes visited food banks. To spend less gas, she drives slower and carefully chooses her gas station.
“I try to save small things here and there, but it’s difficult. I looked for an electric car. But who wants to finance a person who works eight hours a week? asks the student.
Mme Deslandes would like the Cégep to allow him to take part of his courses virtually, which is only widely offered, for the moment, to students who must isolate themselves due to COVID-19.
“Sometimes I wonder if I have to pretend to have had a positive test to stay at home online. It’s made hopeless. I even thought about opening an OnlyFans account for my feet. At some point, it becomes so heavy to bear that you no longer see a solution, ”says the mother of the family.
Cut in leisure
Sonia Théberge must also go daily to a CEGEP located several tens of kilometers from her home, as a teacher. Her purchasing power has diminished since she has not been entitled to a salary increase for two years, she claims, and her spouse was unable to work during the first confinement.
As she moved to Rawdon, in Lanaudière, during the pandemic, Mme Théberge must use his car for all his travels.
Joany Deslandes Sometimes I wonder if I have to pretend to have had a positive test to stay at home online. It’s made hopeless.
“In the short term, it’s out of the question to go out to restaurants, to go to the theater, to concerts, or to buy clothes, gifts, in short, anything that is not essential. […] My boyfriend and I have also decided that this summer’s vacation will be at home. In the medium term, I will have to give up my favorite sporting hobby, tennis, because it is a luxury that I will no longer be able to afford,” reports Ms.me Theberge.
“If all citizens in a comfortable situation like mine are no longer able to spend, many sectors of our society will be affected,” she adds.
It is precisely this snowball effect on consumers that Adlene Abdelmoumene is already observing, who works as an Uber Eats driver seven days a week to support her family, including a newborn baby. This resident of Montreal says he has seen a drop in orders for two weeks. His profit margin has also been reduced due to the increase in the price of gasoline, which he must pay himself as a self-employed worker.
“I have to put in extra hours to make up for these losses,” he says, adding that he depends on the generosity of customers for tips. Mr. Abdelmoumene is seriously considering the idea of converting to bicycle delivery. He sees no other solution to his current precariousness, apart from working harder and crossing his fingers so that the price of gas goes down in the near future.