Industry Minister Tony Clement wants gasoline refiners, distributors and retailers to appear before a Parliamentary committee to justify the rising price at the pumps.

On Thursday Clement told a Toronto news conference that he's concerned about the effect rising gasoline prices are having on Canadians.

Motorists are paying an average of 134.9 cents in Toronto, though prices are expected to drop 1.9 cents a litre overnight.

On Wednesday, most stations were charging a GTA record of 141.1 cents.

"I believe the first step towards any long-term solution is asking the right questions and getting the right answers," Clement said. "The fact of the matter is that nobody can understand why last year when oil was $140 or $150 a barrel we were paying $1.37 a litre and now when it's south of $98 a barrel we are paying more."

Clement said he'll contact the clerk of the industry committee once Parliament reconvenes.

He said he'll be particularly interested in hearing more about how the price of gas is determined.

"Most Canadians including this one don't know very much about how they come about pricing," he said. "It's just not very transparent. It's opaque."

Depending on the outcome of the hearing, Clement said he could ask the competition bureau to further investigate gas prices.

He rejected a suggestion that the government should lower the tax on gasoline. In 2010, taxes represented 32 per cent of the cost of a litre of fuel.

"The minute you lower the tax if the price of gas could just go up by the amount we lowered the tax if you don't have the proper competitive marketplace in place," he said. "If a magic wand could solve this problem it would have been solved by now."

Parliament is not expected to resume for several weeks, meaning a hearing won't be held until at least June.

Issue has been looked at before: watchdog

Gas price watchdog Dan McTeague, a former Liberal MP, wasn't thrilled with Clement's announcement, saying government has explored the issue several times before.

McTeague said a previous committee, which included representation from all parties, published a report in 2005 under a Conservative minority government.

"It's been looked at over the past 12 years … at least six times," McTeague told CP24's Sue Sgambati.

Because Parliament hasn't reconvened yet following this month's election, McTeague is worried the new committee may not hold its first meeting for months, allowing more time for gas prices to climb.

McTeague suggests the Conservative government work with other nations to place limits on unregulated investors or "speculators," create a petroleum inventory report and consider a gas tax rebate for Canadians.