As the Canadian invasion continues, Bellingham Costco shoppers are asking the chain to set “American Only” shopping hours. A Facebook page has been set up and as usual commenters are sounding off. This is a direct result of the increasing number of B.C. residents taking advantage of the high Canadian dollar by shopping across the border.
Naturally, Metro Vancouver’s southern suburbs are more inclined to make the trek out to Bellingham on a daily basis to save a significant amount of money. The biggest draw is cheap milk (I’m looking at you in Surrey) and gas being the big draws. It makes complete sense financially and the time to cross the border is minimal during the weekdays.
The creator of the Facebook page stated the following on the page:
To our Canadian friends on here that think we hate you: You have to look at the root of the problem. Bellingham has laws that keep big box companys from expanding. The overcowding in this small slow paced town has agitated people. The people are only looking at the surface and pointing fingers at our beloved Canadians. Yes there are crazy stories about the rudeness, we are a small town with guests that have big city attitudes. It also doesnt help when have an over-exuberant amount of people in one place. So, the surface problem is overcrowding and the root problem is expansion. Basically, how would you feel if 10 extra people landed in your house out of your control and government officials wont let you do anything about it. You would be grumpy at those 10 people that you have no choice but to deal with. Are those 10 people to blame, no they are not.
Cross-boarder shopping is nothing and if Canadians are being rude that needs to be changed. At the end of the day the reality is that B.C. is losing out on a lot of tax dollars. One just has to venture out to the outlets and you’ll see more British Columbia license plates than Washington State.
There are rude people on both sides of the border. Let’s all try to be civilized and at the very least park properly.
Image: Facebook
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