We need to level the playing field for Canadian businesses

While many cross border shoppers may cheer the increases in merchandise allowance that Canadians will be allowed to return to Canada with, many towns and cities along the border are petitioning the Ministry of Finance to rescind his June 1 changes.
Currently Canadian residents returning to Canada after 24 hours are only permitted $50 in merchandise. That will rise to $200 on June 1. Residents who are away for 48 hours or more will now be permitted to return with $800 up from $400.
Retail businesses along the border are expected to take the biggest hit.
When I was in Toronto almost two weeks ago, my publisher friends in Cornwall, Welland, Sarnia all were concerned about the impact that those changes would have on the economy of their communities.
From Moncton, New Brunswick to White Rock, British Columbia Chambers and town are anxious about the economic impact the federal changes will have on their communities.
It has left some business people steaming in the Rainy River District. The Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce has not taken a position on the changes in the Federal budget.
In Niagara Falls, the Chamber organized a town hall meeting with retailers to discuss the impact on the potential surge in cross border shopping. They predicted lost jobs and bankruptcies.
Many shoppers are discovering that after market prices on trailer and RV prices are 18% cheaper in the United States. That is the duty that Canadian stores have to pay to bring those parts into Canada. Cross border shoppers are not charged those duty fees and only have had to pay the HST in Ontario.
The Retail Council of Canada wants the Canadian government to eliminate the import duties on finished goods entering the country and to review the supply-management system that protects certain industries within the agricultural sector.
The Retail Council of Canada stated that “these duties have outlived their original purpose which was to protect Canadian Manufacturing. These useless tariffs only help to propel more people who live close to the border to drop down to the US."
Across the district, most Canadian businesses try to match US prices.
In Cornwall, both the Chamber of Commerce and the city have come out in opposition to the new federal rules on cross border shopping.
The retail sector of every community in the district is a critical component to the economic health of the district. In Canada the retail sector is the largest employer
The retail sector in Canada is the largest employer of Canadians.
The only answer to make consumers and business people happy is to level the playing field, by not charging duties on many of the goods coming into Canada. They reach the US duty free and when individuals import these products into Canada, they are not charged a duty. However a business importing those products from the United States, Europe, or the far east is faced with those duties which must be added to the price of the goods in their store.
In Canada we must make it easier for businesses to be successful. And we must make business competition equal between businesses in the United States and Canada.

–Jim Cumming,
Publisher