Ah, parity! A struggle, spanning three decades – and one which no-one south of the border was probably even aware of, finally sees the Canadian loonie on an equal footing with the US greenback. Up north, however, it feels like Canada has finally won a round of Monopoly, and there’d be a big street party to celebrate – if it wasn’t for the rain. But hey, we can all nip over the border and buy cheap stuff even more cheaply. We’d have to, as retailers here (and who can blame them?) aren’t budging on the cover prices for items such as books and magazines, which display a much lower US$ price than is – today – realistic. Is that why there are so many more “for sale” bins at Starbucks these days, for all those mugs and candies and cuddly toys with last season’s ticket prices?
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September 20, 2007 at 1:58 pm
I am as patriotic as the next person, and knowing we’ve done things far more “right”, economically, than have the Americans, certainly makes the validation of $1=$1 (and $2=£1) worth a lot.
Canadian merchants are in a bad place. Their inventories were bought at what are now grossly inflated prices. Producers further up the food chain are determined to keep capturing the “free profit” they’ve been grabbing over the last five years as the Canadian dollar has gone from US$0.625 to US$1.00.
So the answer is really simple, but it takes discipline. It’s not “go south and buy it there”, it’s “don’t buy it at all” until prices are changed. Don’t give the companies the business in either country.
Want to see GM give Canadian dealers a chance to compete? Don’t buy a car south of the border. Want to see publishers reprice books and magazines? Don’t buy them in the States. And so on…
After all, in the next couple of years, we’re going to be the ones who can afford to spend while the Americans dig themselves out of personal, corporate and governmental debt hell. Let’s not give up our leverage for a cheap thrill or two just across the line!