Amid rising gas costs and fears that prices at the pump will spike to record highs this summer, the federal government is facing calls for an inquiry into gasoline prices.

The Consumers' Association of Canada began demanding the inquiry after gas prices rose sharply across Canada on Tuesday, with oil companies blaming the spike on low inventories.

The average price of regular gas across Canada on Tuesday was $1.10 per litre, according to MJ Ervin & Associates Inc., a Calgary-based consulting firm. The price represents a spike of five cents in the past week.

In Vancouver, drivers were forking out as much as $1.28 per litre on Tuesday.

Bruce Cran, the president of the association, said oil companies are seeing record profits and refuse to provide a clear explanation for the reasons behind the high prices.

The kidnapping of six oil workers in Nigeria, low inventories in the U.S., disruptions at refineries, and production cuts at OPEC were all cited this week as having contributed to the price spike.

"At this point it doesn't even matter any more what the reasons behind the price rise are," Cran said, noting that Canadians are "exhausted and frustrated" with the situation.

"We've got no satisfactory explanations as to why these huge price rises take place year after year."

Cran said his association received hundreds of calls Tuesday from frustrated motorists demanding to know why prices had gone up.

Tony Macerollo, of the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, said that the organization is doing its best to keep costs down.

"I appreciate that Canadians don't want to pay any more for gasoline than they possibly have to and, in fact, Canadians are among the most price-sensitive consumers for gasoline products in the Western world," Macerollo told CTV Newsnet on Wednesday.

"I would still remind them -- although this is not much of a solace at a time like this -- we still have some of the lowest prices pre-tax in the Western world."

Jason Toews, co-founder of Gasbuddy.com, a website that tracks prices across Canada, said by Wednesday morning the national average had already risen over Tuesday's average, reaching $1.11 per litre -- an indication that the cost will likely keep going up.

"The national average is rising quite rapidly and I'm expecting gas prices to reach $1.20, possibly even $1.30 across Canada on average this summer," Toews told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday.

He said people in Alberta were paying, on average, the lowest price at the pumps, with prices in Calgary hovering around $1.05 per litre. Vancouver had the highest, with $1.28.

Toews offered a number of tips for Canadians looking to save money on fuel.

"Of course, alter your driving habits, combine trips to the grocery store with trips to the barber," Toews said.

"You can make sure that you drive consistently, don't accelerate hard, make sure that you drive without your AC on. Drive with your windows up, although in the hot Canadian summers that's not always an option. You can car pool or ride a bike. There are lots of things to do."

Here are some of the gas prices in cities across Canada on Tuesday:

• St. John's, N.L. -- $1.16 per litre
• Victoria, B.C. -- $1.22 per litre
• Montreal, Que. -- $1.17 per litre
• Ottawa, Ont. -- $1.09 per litre

Gas in question period

NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis asked why the Conservative government didn't launch a public inquiry.

Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn said Liberal and NDP Mps would like an investigation, they could bring a complaint to the federal Competition Bureau.

"It's been done six times, and we all know the results," he said, adding the government was helping Canadians by bringing in incentives to buy fuel-efficient vehicles and to take public transit.

Some mischief was made in the House of Commons on the issue.

In response to a question from a Conservative backbencher about whether higher gas taxes would be good for Canadians, Environment Minister John Baird said, "In the Calgary Herald on Aug. 24, 2005, do you know what the leader of the Liberal Party said? He said that high gas prices are actually good for Canada.

"It's time for the Liberal party to expose their secret plan to bring in a massive new tax called a carbon tax."

Liberal House Leader Ralph Goodale said after question period that if Baird checked, he would find the stance "can be attributed to a newspaper, but not to the honourable leader of the opposition."

A Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2005 Herald story contained the following:

"On Tuesday in Regina, Environment Minister Stephane Dion said high gas prices are actually good for Canada in the medium and long term.
 
"'We have to get used to changing our way of life,' Dion said. 'We consume way too much gas. If all of humanity had the same consumption levels as we do, it would take five planets instead of one in order to maintain the planet's capacity for reproduction.'"

With files from The Canadian Press