Doug Kanter wrote:
Your explanation of futures is largely accurate, except that each time
they're bid up, the price at the pumps rises. This should infuriate you.

That's exactly what happens here.
A sister province has gas price regulation and the per liter price is
usually 5 to 10 cents cheaper...and they don't even have a refinery.
There is an ongoing debate in Nova Scotia about returing to gas price
regulation to protect the public from gouging.