Companies have been put on notice by the federal government: Don't go too far out of line on your prices or you will be named and shamed.
At least that's the intent of the Price Transparency Act, which was introduced this week to deal with what's been called geographic price discrimination. According to Industry Minister James Moore, who is also the MP for Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, consumers are unfairly paying higher prices compared to their U.S. counterparts on a similar basket of goods.
Under the new law, the Commissioner of Competition will be able to investigate cases of alleged price discrimination and publicly report on them.
This initiative, timed within a year of the next federal election, puts the Conservatives on the side of consumers - but will it make a difference?
Companies blame many variables, including higher costs here, to explain more expensive goods while some argue that this is just more government red tape.
But a little more transparency is what this act aims for, and we hope it's a good thing for consumers, not just Conservatives.
