ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- New Democrat leader Jack Layton said Friday's big Canadian gasoline price hike was counterfeit and a price-monitoring agency should control gasoline prices.

"The price of oil has not gone up. Something is going on here and it is simply being accepted by government after government after government," Layton said while campaigning outside a small ranch-style home in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Canadian gasoline prices rose as much as 50 cents a gallon Friday, with analysts blaming the sudden increase on Hurricane Ike forcing the closure of energy production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, even as Ike neared the Texas coast, crude oil futures Friday traded down about 60 cents or 0.6 percent, to around $100 a barrel Friday afternoon. The price dipped to $99.99 a barrel at 1:45 p.m. EDT.

"Every day, consumers are paying millions of dollars to price gouging and hidden fees," The Globe and Mail quoted 58-year-old social democrat Layton as saying.

Layton said that if his party formed the new government after the Oct. 14 election, it would create a gasoline price-monitoring agency.

It would also end hidden fees charged by banks and cell-phone companies, including fees on text messages, he said.

In addition, he would ban bank machine fees and cap interest rates charged by banks and credit-card companies, he said.

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