Scott met today with the Retail Council of Canada and a cross-section of representatives of Canada’s retail industry to discuss issues around the recent rise in the value of the Canadian dollar.  The meeting with the Council was requested in late September.

Particpants in the meeting included:

“Canadian retailers have the responsibility and incentive to offer competitive prices to Canadians. In the past few days we have seen them start to implement better pricing, but there is more work to be done,” said Mr. Brison.  “Retailers share the responsibility for competitive pricing with manufacturers, suppliers, and the federal government itself, and each of these could be doing more for Canadians,” he said.

“The Minister of Finance has been grandstanding on this matter.  If he was truly serious about securing lower prices for Canadian consumers given the rise in the value of the dollar, he would be meeting with all these parties.  And, from the federal government’s perspective, it could immediately start to review the tariffs his government imposes on goods imported from the U.S. and around the world,” Mr. Brison said.

There are many goods in which Canada imposes a significantly higher tariff than the United States.

“The Minister of Finance needs to do more than huff and puff on this issue.  He should review his own government’s tariff policies and their impact on high consumer prices and whether he is gouging Canadians through high tariffs.  They should also move to reform Canada's tax and regulatory system to help Canadian manufacturers reduce their cost of doing business in Canada and improve their competitiveness,”   Mr. Brison concluded.