Duty free stores look for financial support as cross-border traffic drops
An association representing duty free stores and a group of 15 border city mayors have written a letter to the federal government asking for financial support and clarity on export rules.
The Frontier Duty Free Association says its members have seen their revenue decline by 60 to 80% as cross-border traffic slows due to the U.S. trade war.
The association is asking for "immediate" cash support for duty free stores, which they say are often key employers in small border communities.
The association also wants the federal government to align excise tax policies and export status with American duty free rules, something they say would make them more competitive with U.S. stores.
Association executive director Barbara Barrett says that duty free stores in small communities in Western and Eastern Canada are seeing the steepest loss in traffic.
The association represents 32 duty free stores across the country.
READ: Peace Bridge duty-free shop goes into receivership amid plummeting traveller volumes
In late April of this year, a judge ordered the duty-free shop at Canada's second-busiest border crossing into receivership as it struggles to pay off millions of dollars in debt and overdue rent.
The Canadian Press reported the Ontario Superior Court of Justice appointed a receiver for the Peace Bridge duty-free shop who is empowered to take control of the assets, oversee liquidation and repay creditors. The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority claimed the store owed it up to $17 million in unpaid rent going back years, while Royal Bank of Canada says $3.3 million in debt is outstanding.
With additional reporting from The Canadian Press
