About ninety per cent of Canadians live within two hours driving time of the U.S. border. Many of those people, including some living right here in Yorkton-Melville, take advantage of that short distance for cross-border shopping. Others shop U.S. retailers by accessing them online.

The reason is no secret: many items are cheaper south of the 49th parallel. In fact, it has been documented that Canadians pay an average of 15 percent more for goods in Canada compared to those available in the U.S. For example:

• a 1.5 litre bottle of shampoo is priced at roughly 30 percent higher in Canada than in the U.S.;
• a 46-inch LED TV is priced 13 percent higher in Canada than in the U.S.;
• an 81 milligram container of aspirin is roughly double the price in Canada.

This significant and unexplained price difference between identical U.S. and Canadian products is called geographic price discrimination – and it’s a major source of frustration for many Canadians who don’t believe they should pay more for an item simply because of where they live.

The Government of Canada agrees. These price differences are real; and they hurt the bottom line of diligent families who try to make wise decisions on where to spend their hard-earned dollars, and who deserve to know that they’re getting a fair price.

It is a reality that the higher prices of some goods in Canada are due to the legitimate costs of doing business on this side of the border – but that is not the full story. Legitimate business costs are one thing, but when it comes to geographic price discrimination, consumers expect and deserve better. Ultimately, Canadians should know whether the differences between Canada and U.S. prices are justified.

That’s why, last month, our government tabled the Price Transparency Act. When passed it will give Canada’s Commissioner of Competition the power to investigate price discrimination and expose it, helping to ensure that Canadians pay a comparable price for comparable goods that they buy in Canada.

While this legislation will not set or regulate prices in Canada, it will create the tools necessary to investigate and expose cases of unjustified price discrimination that hurt Canadian families.

When the Conservative Government was elected in 2006, we set an ambitious agenda to offer strong support to Canadians consumers. Since that time we have cut taxes, introduced tougher rules to ensure better marketplace fairness, promoted competition in a number of industries, and improved product and food safety.

The Price Transparency Act is another step our government is taking to put more money back into the pockets of hard-working Canadian families.

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