It is unthinkable anyone would lose their life over $112 bucks of gasoline. The dragging death of gas station attendant Jayesh Prajapati after he was run over by a driver fleeing the station without paying is another tragic reminder of how senseless and avoidable some crimes are. Liberal MPP Mike Colle rightly sensed there is an opportunity to update Ontario's laws to require motorists to pre-pay for gas they pump. This is a good idea and an excellent opportunity for a private member's bill to influence government policy.
We live in a province where most people are fortunate enough to go to work with the understanding that there are health and safety regulations designed to ensure their job is safe, so that they can return to their family at the end of the day. It's clear that for individuals who work in this particular industry, there are options to improve health and safety legislation, by changing how the purchase of gasoline is transacted, and it makes perfect sense that legislation, like the bill MPP Colle is currently working on, would be passed.
We may only hear about the fatal incidents of gas theft, but according to the Toronto Star, between July 2009 and 2010 there were 1,618 reports of gas thefts in Toronto. That is more than 30 opportunities a week similar incidents could occur.
This isn't the first time the idea of legislation requiring drivers to pay before they pump has been considered by the Ontario government. Shortly after Atifeh Rad died of injuries he received during a similar incident in Mississauga in May 2011, the government was reported to be considering legislation.
The last time the government contemplated pre-pay legislation, Ted Stoner from the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute was quoted saying "Let us evaluate what's required, ensure the safety of the customers and employees and ensure security of the site. We'll put in place the necessary measures."
That evaluation came too late to ensure the safety of Jayesh Prajapati. Let's hope the Ontario Legislature acts before another gas theft fatality occurs.
It is hard to understand why gasoline industry would oppose pre-pay legislation that would protect their employees and ensure they are paid for their product, especially when you consider how thin the profit margin is for the gas retailer themselves.
Jamie Fox, who owns a gas station in PEI, where the PEI Gasoline Retailers Association is debating creating its own pay-before-you-pump policy, pointed out that that the gas station owner only makes 4.5 cents per litre of gas sold, which means $100 dollars worth of fuel that is stolen requires another 2,200 litres of gas to be sold to make up for the loss.
British Columbia passed pre-pay legislation in 2008, the first in Canada. A number of states in the US have similar legislation. In a society where so many people use debit and credit cards to pay for daily transactions, it seems reasonable to ask law abiding citizens to pay for their gas in a manner that will help stop a frequent crime, and one that has proven deadly far too frequently.
MPP Colle's proposal for legislation to protect workers at gas stations is timely and something that the legislature should work to pass during this session to bring an end to this senseless, petty crime that occasionally has fatal consequences.
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Another thought is that any employee of a gas bar or service station who places his/her life on the line to save a few dollars for a multinational oil company, might be better off dead.
It may not be law, but most Quebec gas stations have had an after hours pre pay policy for many years. I don't understand why this is an issue.
The second change should be to take away the license of the car owner - permanently. It's the law in the state of Montana . If the threat of losing your license for good is there , it would make a lot of gas thieves think twice.
The result is that a) other businesses besides gas stations will be covered by the Bill C-45 law b) the public won't be punished or at least inconvenienced because of the actions of a few and c) the franchise owners won't lose the impulse sales that a huge number of gas station owners did in BC.
Making people pay first is simplistic and a knee jerk reaction. The death of the poor employee is terrible, God forbid, but applying the logic used in BC is lazy thinking. What's next - making people show they have money before entering a grocery store to prevent shoplifting ?
Laws the Liberal Government have since watered down.
Now we get another in Ontario.
To heck with the business owners pay first saves lives! They can find a way to make it work.
Attendants need to realized they are attendants not a security guards a single man is no match for a man in a vehicle. Put cameras in gas stations which nearly all have, and have police investigate theft.
I sympathize with his family I pumped gas in downtown Toronto for several years I fully know what the job involves so if someone wanted to drive away with out paying I let them and reported it to police. and if the 4.5 cents per liter and 2200 liters are correct every station must sell more than 400 dollars an hour just to pay the clerk 15 dollars an hour. to pay taxes water and electricity they must have to sell 15 or 20 thousand dollars a day to stay in business. Sorry but since there must be hundreds of stations in Toronto I think most stations can manage the couple hundred dollars in thefts a year and most I'll bet have insurance.
Every purchase or interaction that occurs all day is an opportunity for theft and murder. Will the next law just make seeing or speaking to another human illegal.
You overpay the cashier gives you a refund.
That being said, I don’t think this requires a bill from the legislature. Nor are we required to create a new law every time someone is killed. I believe the onus is on the gas station/chain to decide what is appropriate for sale of gas purposes. The US does this consistently but they have a much different level of crime & access to guns. Many stations are in locked down mode.
While there are many occurrences of gas theft in Toronto, there is no need to run after the car. They have security cameras & station policy should dictate NOT to run after cars. I believe that stations should be held liable if they make it a requirement for an employee to chase a vehicle.
Any time there is a robbery attempt, police always advise to let the thief have what they want. This is what banks tell their employees. This is a terrible thing to have happened but dictating this type change for businesses is over-legislating our society.
We one filled up at a pre-paid place in Ontario between London and Toronto (not sure how that was legal if I understand the article correctly). We went in and we put $ 20 dollars on my visa card and the pump was freed up, but the last few dollars didn't fit in the tank and stayed in their pump. The clerk refused to give me any money back or even store credit. In the end I called visa and insisted they only bill out $ 18 and reported the business to visa as cheating customers. I check my bill and Visa only billed me the 18 I don't know if they paid the gas station 18 or 20. (I am of course rounding numbers because I can't remember the exact numbers).
And here you quote the retail gasoline industry saying "Oh well, we'll have to take a look at this and review... bah blah blah." Here's an idea: FORBID gas stations from charging their employees financially for someone else's criminal acts! It is SHOCKING that such a policy was ever allowed. Shell Canada and/or its franchisees should be up on charges of criminal homicide for this poor gas' attendant's death. And yet no one is even talking about the policy that led up to that death.