The Quebec government has tabled new legislation to force gas stations to justify any increase in prices at the pump.

The bill follows a refusal by Quebec gas stations to voluntarily comply with a series of measures put in place to make the process of pricing fuel more transparent.

"It's to be sure that Quebecers pay a good price, and don't end up paying some inexplicable price on the Friday or Thursday of [a long weekend]," Quebec Natural Resources Minister Claude Béchard said after tabling the law on Tuesday.

Bill 41, called "An Act to foster transparency in the sale of gasoline and diesel fuel," will make it mandatory for petrol stations to post the minimum gas price calculated by the Quebec Energy Board, in order to allow customers to better understand the rate.

The legislation would also give the natural resources minister power to order a maximum fuel price.

Gas prices have skyrocketed at Quebec's 4,000 stations in the past year and sometimes fluctuate within regions by as much as 10 cents per litre.

The petrol industry stands firm about explaining gas prices, said Carole Montreuil, vice-president of the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute.

Consumers will end up paying the cost, she warned Tuesday.

"This is a massive bureaucracy, and usually bureaucracies create costs, so it's [another] cost for doing business in Quebec."

Companies that don't comply with the new rules will face fines of up to $50,000.

The Liberal minority government first introduced the petrol-pricing legislation in May.

With files from the Canadian Press