Yep - Paperback books are expensive here and the 'par' dollar has been 'par' for quite some time now.
Retailers have marked down some of their stock to reflect it but it's still not pricing like I've seen in the States..and then we have 13% tax on most items..(not food)
I paid about a buck per hundred in exchange in July - a few years ago it was around 30 bucks..
Levis jeans at Sears here are around 75.00 (the style I like) then there's 13% tax. At Sears in Sarasota they run 50 bucks or so. They had a 50% off sale..so they were $25.00..then there was a scratch and save at the cash desk and I got another 20% off..so they were 20 bucks plus 6% tax.. On sale here I've never seen them less than 55 or so..
It's the same thing with cars, beer, alcohol, shoes etc..
check it out:
http://www.bank-banque-canada.ca/en/rates/exchange.html (there's also a 10 year comparison link)
not fair!!lol