A discrimination suit brought against the Automobile Manufactures by disgruntled shoppers who were refused the right to purchase automobiles in the US.  Last month, consumer advocacy groups in Canada filed a class-action lawsuit in Ontario Superior Court seeking $2 billion in general damages and $100 million in punitive damages from General Motors, Honda, Chrysler and Nissan for allegedly fixing car prices 25 per cent to 35 per cent higher in Canada than in the United States.Mean while Canadian Retailers are scheduled to meet with Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. They are already passing the buck on to manufactures stating that retailers have no control of prices and just add on their mark-up to whatever the manufactures charge. This attempt by the Federal Minister is probably going to be the same as the “Dog and Pony show” that we see periodically when oil prices are going up when crude prices are coming down. This government has never stepped in to aid the consumer at the expense of big business; the only interest shown the consumer is the amount of taxes that they can bear without kicking them out of power. There are so many complaints coming in concerning the refusal of Manufactures refusing to sell to Canadians that there is now the possibility of a “Class Action Suit” being launched.  One family actually paid a relative and ensuing costs and still saved a significant amount of money. The bridges will be packed this holiday season as many Canadians take advantage of the lower prices in the US to do their Christmas shopping.  The manufactures, if they are to blame for this price inequity, will be hurting their source of higher earnings as they will miss the biggest shopping days of the year due to the greed of a few. See who wins this battle of fairness, the consumer or big business, who always seems to have the support of the government.

 Walmart and HBC have both announced that they have and will lower prices on items. Some economic analysts have estimated Canadians may be paying well above 20 per cent more for many products than Americans, despite the respective values of their currencies. SUVs, books, food, CDs, DVD movies, TVs and other consumer electronics come to mind.  Will this be enough of a move to keep the consumer happy, only Christmas receipts will tell the whole story. And for some companies, the loss of sales might end their reign in our marketplace.