Canadian consumers could see some relief in prices at the malls.
The federal government announced new legislation on Tuesday to put a halt to what they call “geographic price discrimination.” The legislation, called The Price Transparency Act, will "give the commissioner of competition the power to investigate price discrimination and expose it," said James Moore, federal industry minister.
According to the Business News Network, soap is currently 28 per cent more expensive in Canada than in the United States. Ketchup is 76 per cent more expensive and aspirin is 114 per cent more expensive.
The legislation does have limitations. It won’t actually be able to set or regulate prices.
“If you wanted U.S. prices, you would have to have U.S. costs. You would have to have the U.S. size of the market,” said economist Philippe Cyrenne from the University of Winnipeg.
He said for the government to really help make prices more competitive, the government should lower tariffs and transportation costs.
Under the legislation, if there is a suspicion of price discrimination, the commissioner will be able to force retailers to show documents proving how they arrived at a set price.
