The American dollar is surging this summer but the Thunder Bay District Chamber of Commerce says some local retailers aren't keeping pace.
On June 18, the American dollar was pegged at $1.22 Canadian and two months later to the day, the Bank of Canada values it at $1.31.
Even before that increase, Tourism Thunder Bay's May figures showed a 17 per cent increase in cross-border shopping over the same month in 2014. Visitors to the Terry Fox Monument are up 18-to-22 per cent per day over that same period.
With those sorts of fluctuations, Chamber president Charla Robinson wants to be sure local retailers are adjusting to take advantage of the change.
"This is something we need to be cognizant of every summer but particularly this year when the exchange rate has been rather in fluctuation, let's say," Robinson said.
"If you changed your register within the last two weeks, it may not be within the fair rate of exchange. So just a reminder to retailers that they need to keep on top of that and keep checking to see how the exchange rate is changing to and make sure their registers are current to the fair rate of exchange."
Robinson said there's no legal penalty for converting dollars outside of five per cent on either side of the value but there are commercial consequences.
"Certainly, the penalty would be unhappy customers and negative public relations if someone really felt they were treated poorly, they could publicly embarrass a retailer by commenting on something like that," she said.
"We don't want that to happen."
