Like or dislike Rachael Ray, she speaks volumes in the food world. And one thing to like about Rachael Ray is that she loves Montréal.
Yes, Rachael loves everything, but she really, sincerely does love Montréal. Ray is from upstate New York, a relatively short drive to Montréal.
So when I was recently watching a long ago rerun of her Montréal visit for "$40 a Day," I noticed a couple of things that are no longer correct.
The most obvious point was the exchange rate. In 2002, when she was in Montréal visit for "$40 a Day," the exchange rate was about 75¢ to the dollar, a great deal for American tourists. Needless to say, those days are long over.
Travelers going to Canada certainly know that the exchange rate isn't that good, and they should check the rate before going to any country. U.S. tourists are making fewer trips to Canada these days, and the exchange rate is one of several reasons for this trend.
Toward the end of the episode, Rachael talks exuberantly about being able to get your GST back at the border. She lays out the ground rules precisely … as they were in 2002. However, that rule is long gone, and you can't get back GST, not to mention that some provinces have gone to a combined HST.
Having a crawl across the screen that explains this each and every time the rerun is aired is probably too much to request. Hopefully, tourists aren't going to Montréal or elsewhere in Canada hoping for that money back. When TV tells you something, especially Rachael Ray, it's easy to believe it's so. While it was true in 2002, this isn't true in 2012, even if Rachael Ray says so.
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