Tariffs in 2025. Here We Go Again.

 

I thought that I should have another go at this.

During Mr Trump’s first term I wrote regarding his comments on tariffs and that the things he said were incorrect. Lies actually.

With Mr Trump again assuming the office of the Presidency he is calling for import tariffs from 10% to 60%, depending on the country of origin. Just so that we’re clear, TARIFFS ARE A SALES TAX WHICH IS ULTIMATELY PAID BY CONSUMERS.

In case just pointing that out is insufficient, perhaps walking you through the steps will make the point easier to see:

Suppose that a manufacturer (say, Chinese) makes an item and needs to sell it for $10 in order to keep his factory open. Before tariffs he arrives at the border and sells it to an importer for the $10 that he needs and goes away. The importer adds his standard 100% mark up and sells it to a retailer for $20. The retailer adds his standard 100% mark up and sells it to the final consumer (you) for $40.

Now let’s take a second look.

Suppose that same manufacturer (still Chinese) makes that same item and needs to sell it for $10 in order to keep his factory open. After tariffs, he arrives at the border with the intention of sailing away with $10. He’s told that there is a 60% import Tariff. What happens now? The manufacturer isn’t going to drop his price. He needs that $10. Ten dollars is a fair price and cheaper than the same thing can be made in America.

It is going to cost $16 to get this item across the border and that’s what the importer will pay if he still wants it. At this point it doesn’t really matter whether the extra $6 Tax is paid to the manufacturer who then pays it to the Government or whether it’s paid directly by the importer to the Government. Either way, $16 comes out of the importer’s pocket. That’s $10 for the manufacturer (who could sell the item to another country if you don’t want it.) and $6 Tax for the Government. The importer adds his standard 100% mark up to the $16 he paid and sells it to a retailer for $32. The retailer adds his standard 100% mark up and sells it to the final consumer (you) for $64.

The end result of a 60% tariff is that the final customer (you) have to pay 60% more for that imported (Chinese) item. Something that had cost $40 last week costs $64 this week.

Now let’s look at who this affects.

A few years ago it was true that WalMart was China’s 5^th largest customer. WalMart bought and imported more Chinese goods than all except 4 countries. And one of those countries is the USA, which has other companies that also import Chinese goods. Other companies like Dollar General, Costco, Target and Amazon.

So what sorts of people shop at places like WalMart & Dollar General? Folks like Donald Trump? Steve Bannon? Linda McMahon? Elon Musk? Steve Mnuchin? Mark Zuckerberg?

Billionaires all.

How about any other members of Mr Trump’s cabinet & inner circle?

I don’t think you’ll see any of them pushing a cart through the aisles of your local Target store.

No. The folks who will be hit hardest by this Tariff (sales Tax) will be the people who can least afford to pay. The folks who need to shop at discount stores in order to scrape by. The ones who will never be able to afford to buy a home.

I don’t want to talk anybody down (particularly because I fall into the demographic most likely to have voted for Mr Trump) but, statistically speaking, people with lower levels of education are more likely to be poor (and hence shop at discount stores) while people with higher levels of education are more likely to be wealthy. You can easily find a video on-line of Mr Trump smiling and saying “I love the poorly educated” while at the same time asking for their votes.

So why does he want to increase the taxes on the people that he “loves” and who voted for him, while in his last term he gave tax breaks to non-Costco-shopping billionaires?

The guy went to business school. He knows how this works. So why does he lie about who ultimately pays the bill for his highest tariffs?

I just thought I’d ask.

What do you think is the answer?

Dubay's 15th "Proof"

It's been a long time since I've thought of Yoga Instructor & Flat Earth Promoter Eric Dubay. I see that he has a new flat earth movie out repeating many of the claims from his first, "200 Proofs..." movie. Of course most of those "proofs" aren't proofs, many are just unsubstantiated assertions, some are his failures-to-understand being presented as fact, and some are outright fabrications. Since he spends around 40 seconds per "proof" there's little to no time spent citing references or examining any claim.

I'd like to take a few minutes to look at one of the failures-to-understand that is claimed as a proof of earth's flatness. Dubay claims as his 15th "proof":

"15) If the Earth were truly a sphere 25,000 miles in circumference, airplane pilots would have to constantly correct their altitudes downwards so as to not fly straight off into “outer space;” a pilot wishing to simply maintain their altitude at a typical cruising speed of 500 mph, would have to constantly dip their nose downwards and descend 2,777 feet (over half a mile) every minute! Otherwise, without compensation, in one hour’s time the pilot would find themselves 31.5 miles higher than expected."

There are a lot of things wrong with this claim.

A) It relies on the earth being flat: The use of the word 'downward' is problematic. It has different definitions in a flat earth and a globe earth. On a globe earth, downward is a local phenomenon - towards the centre of the globe. A plane need not descend toward the centre of the globe to maintain its altitude. That's moronic.

On a flat earth, downward is an absolute - towards 'down.' For Dubay's argument to be understandable you must assume that the globe exists in a place that has an 'absolute down.' And that place with an absolute down is a flat earth. The only possible circumstance for Dubay's claim is if his airplane takes off from the "top" of a gravityless globe that is resting in the gravity field of a flat earth. One may surmise, that since pilots don't constantly correct downwards, our globe is not sitting on a flat earth.

B) It relies on bad math: Dubay uses the formula from his "Proof #9" as the foundation for the claims made in "Proof #15." As part of "Proof #9" Dubay introduces the idea that curvature of a globe earth must be 8 inches downward multiplied by the square of the mileage from the observer. This is the formula he uses to derive his claims of excessive altitude in "Proof 15". If you passed Grade 10 math you might remember that this is the formula for a parabola. If you didn't remember, you can be forgiven. You probably haven't needed to think about it since your last math test. But presenting it as part of this mathematical based 'proof' is not forgivable.

C) Dubay misunderstands/misrepresents what his bad math says: Dubay derives an average slope between 2 points on a parabolic curve, then presents an interpolation of that slope as if it has some 'real world' meaning. It doesn't.

  Since no serious person has claimed that the earth is a parabola, and this slope only has meaning in relation to the 'absolute down' of a flat earth, it is a meaningless claim. It could easily be reworded as, "because the earth is flat the earth can't be a globe." And that's not a "Proof." (See the addendum for the math, if you like.)

D) It's disingenuous: Dubay uses a hodgepodge of 'flat earth physics' and imagery as the criteria to test globe earth claims. This, once again, starts with the assumption that the earth is flat and concludes with, "a globe earth doesn't make sense when the earth is flat."

If a person was honestly seeking truth the starting point might be something like: "These 2 models are incompatible. They can't both be true. They could both be false. Is there a way to test these models that doesn't depend on either model as a starting point?" The answer to the question is, "yes." But Mr. Dubay seems reluctant to explore that path choosing, instead, to always start from the assumption that the earth is flat.

Addendum

Extrapolate: extend (a graph, curve, or range of values) by inferring unknown values from trends in the known data.

Interpolate: In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing new data points within the range of a discrete set of known data points.

Dubay used his claim of being 31.5 miles too high 500 miles after departure then divided that by 60 to get an average value: "2,777 feet (over half a mile) every minute!" But because the slope of a parabola changes constantly the slope of a line between any 2 points can't be interpolated or extrapolated to give any useful information.

To make the math a little easier I'll speed up Mr. Dubay's plane from 500MPH to 600MPH. Now it's easy to see that 600mi/60min = 10mi/min and 10mi/60sec = 1/6mi/sec. Let's plug that back into the parabolic formula

 y = 8in * (1/6)^2 = 8/36in = 2/9in 

And there you have another solution to the parabolic world curve problem (if such a world existed); 2/9th inch every 1/6th mile or 2/9in every second at 600MPH. Now we plug those numbers back into the original story of a plane flying 500Mi.

 500Mi = 3000 * 1/6Mi  which corresponds to 3000 * 2/9th" =~ 56 feet 

Or slightly less than 1 foot every minute! Imperceptible to a person on a plane without the use of instruments.

(At 500MPH the numbers change again to about 1/6" drop per second and therefore 47 ft over 500 miles, about 9" every minute! Nothing like Mr. Dubay's half mile claim.)

I can hear you saying, "But that was an extrapolation! Dubay interpolated. Surely that will give the same value as Dubay got." So let's try interpolating. If we use Dubay's formula for a flight of 1,000Mi. at 500MPH and 2 hours we get a "y" value (Dubay would say 'drop.') of 126Mi. which, interpolated to 1 hour, would be 63Mi. Or over 1 mile (5,555 Ft) every minute. That's twice what Dubay claimed it would be in his "proof." Such a route wouldn't take the plane around the curve of the world, it would take it through Dubay's parabolic planet!

So what does all of this mean? In the physical world it means nothing. It's just a demonstration that the bad math Dubay uses to bamboozle people produces crap results. The average value of a parabolic function is a meaningless number. A meaningless number used to support a baseless claim.

The Folly of Buying GameStop

I want to start by saying two things:

1) There are no true investors who own GameStop shares now and;

2) Bitcoin isn’t an investment. It is a speculative instrument at best and most closely resembles a method of gambling.

Let’s start with point #1: An investor buys a stock with a reasonable expectation of making money. A stock represents an ownership stake in a company and, as a part owner of the company, the investor would be entitled to a proportionate share of any company profits. GameStop has issued 69,746,960 shares. If you own one share you are entitled to 1/ 69,746,960th of the profits; that was $1.52 in 2018.

GameStop stopped paying dividends in March 2019. No profits to investors in about 2 years. At the time of the last dividend payment the stock was selling in the $12 - $14 range.

In the last fiscal year GameStop profits were in fact losses; -$4.76/share. The company lost close to $332,000,000 or about half of what the company was worth at the beginning of the year. Another year like last and the company will be a net value of Zero. Worthless. And Zero return to investors.

Any reasonable investor, looking at the possible loss of his investment in a failing business, would have taken the money and run before the end of January 2021 when speculators/gamblers were paying far beyond what an investor would reasonably expect. By the end of January all of the true investors would have sold their shares to people who are speculators and gamblers.

There is nothing wrong with speculating or gambling as long as you know that you’re doing it.

And that brings me to point #2, Bitcoin: I hear people referring to Bitcoin as an investment. It absolutely is not. Bitcoin is not based on any underlying asset or (potentially) profit-making endeavor. Of itself, it will never turn a profit, Bitcoin produces no saleable goods or services it will never pay a dividend. Placing money in Bitcoin pays no interest. The only thing you can reasonably do with Bitcoin is hope to sell it for more than you paid. In this last case it seems to be very like the present treatment of GameStop shares.

Here’s the difference. There was never anything behind Bitcoin, it was never intended to be an investment. Bitcoin is traded on unregulated exchanges and openly manipulated in ways that would be illegal on the regulated stock exchanges. Meanwhile, GameStop shares are attached to a business and traded in regulated financial markets.

Bitcoin will be traded as long as people want to trade it and as long as any unregulated cripto exchange exists, but not GameStop.

There is a slim chance that GameStop may stop the bleeding and survive in some smaller form or that some other corporation might see some value in the carcass of GameStop and suggest a buyout, offering a few cents or a dollar per share. This would require a vote from the shareholders so is unlikely to go through. If GameStop runs out of money and goes into receivership the shares will cease to trade on the financial markets and anyone left holding them will lose all they paid.

After gambling hundreds or thousands of dollars the owners won’t even have any Hockey Cards or Beanie Babies to look at.

Cycle Touring Tool Kit

 

Cycle Tour Tool Kit

Some folks asked me the other day what tools I carry on a long trip. Here's the speel:

Truly, you can do most roadside repairs with just a bicycle tool, tire irons, a $7.00 patch kit and a pump. But on a longer trip you won’t have access to those rarely used tools that you might have in your (or your buddy’s) garage. And you may be putting on more miles than usual, too. So you’ll probably need a few more tools than you’d carry on a Saturday near home.

I carry more tools than I really need for emergency use. The chain breaker and spare link I’ve only needed twice in 15 years of group rides, and never for my own bike. The loose Allen wrench is only because it’s easier to use than the bike tool on 1 type of adjustment; the same goes for the spoke wrench. The spare chain pieces I’ve never needed for fixing a chain, but I have used them plus hose clamps to make emergency fastenings. So everything here I’ve used at least once while on the road.

Photo

A) Chain links X 2

B) Chain breaker

C) Wire hook – to hold the chain when replacing a link

D) 10” chain

E) Electrical vinyl tape

F) Tie Wraps/zip ties

G) Velcro strap

H) Combo tire iron/ open end wrenches

J) Loose Allen key - 5mm

K) Bicycle tool (set of 2)

        Part 1

    #1 Philips screw driver

    Allen wrenches 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.5mm

    Tire iron

        Part 2

    Bottle opener

    3/16” Flat screw driver

    Serrated blade

    Box end wrenches 8, 9, 10, 12, 14mm

    Spoke wrenches (3 sizes) (3, 3.4, 3.45mm)

    Allen wrenches 2, 8mm

    Tire iron

L) Self adhesive tube patches

M) Spoke tool (3 sizes)

N) Hand pump c/w Schrader & Presta adapters

O) Pedal wrench

P) Multi tool

    Needle nose pliers

    Gripper jaws

    Wire cutter

    Knife

    Can opener

     Flat screw drivers 1/8”, 1/4”, 5/16”

    #0 Philips screw driver

     Awl/Drill

    File

Q) Pocket knife (half serrated)

R) Piece of inner tube

S) 6” crescent wrench

T) Multi-bit screw driver (5 bit)

#1, 2 Philips. 1/4” Flat. #2, 3 Robertson (There’s really no use for Robertson on a bike.)

U) Valve tool

V) Valve adapter

W) Presta ring

X) Small bungee

Y) Hose clamps

Z) Assorted bolts, washers, nuts.

        Also

Bit of sandpaper or emery board

Spare tube

Rag

Chain lube/Wax

Old tooth brush

Google Maps route - Cross Canada Cycle

A friend was talking the other day about perhaps doing a cross-Canada cycle trip and asked if I had a map of the route that Doug & I had taken in 2006. I didn't.
I went back and reconstructed the route in daily chunks, using the diary I wrote at the time as a reminder. Day 16 has 2 chunks, since we accepted a ride (paid a guy, really) for about 100 Km's in Saskatchewan.
Following is a list of maps, first a rough route of all of Canada then daily maps. Some (but not all) of the random camping options that we took are pretty accurately located on the daily maps. Most of the routing is pretty close though there were times that I had to change to "car" mode since "bicycle" wouldn't allow me to draw on the roads that we had followed. Also, Maps wouldn't allow me to take the Argentia ferry to Newfoundland and instead kept sending me to Port aux Basques. It's a shorter ferry ride but a longer bike ride to St. John's that way.

So, here's what I have:

Log of daily writings from the road in 2006. Sorry, they're chronologically backwards.
http://brentinalta.blogspot.com/2017/02/
They journal entries show the total distance up to that day as well as the riding time & distance of the day. Also the accommodation.
Interspersed there are also 'bulk e-mails' that I sometimes send to friends & family to let them know how I'm doing.

Rough route - All of Canada
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/49.2814178,-122.7563239/47.5605723,-52.710847/@43.8545352,-97.6779458,4.79z/data=!4m44!4m43!1m40!3m4!1m2!1d-102.4856377!2d51.2101359!3s0x52e3ad0a0f6674d1:0x3d5d98e678d3e683!3m4!1m2!1d-100.0408619!2d50.9349602!3s0x52e5e18ea015e6a7:0x824267b82bd4e13f!3m4!1m2!1d-97.0722756!2d49.881931!3s0x52ea773449ca5fd3:0xecc9436394f7fca3!3m4!1m2!1d-86.5553869!2d48.7716235!3s0x4d437bc682c03553:0xa2b00a113566482a!3m4!1m2!1d-84.0898548!2d46.5255669!3s0x4d364fe427679d5f:0xe856c01f00344083!3m4!1m2!1d-80.8845358!2d46.4955113!3s0x4d2f0198cc936b7b:0x3976061985c78d5b!3m4!1m2!1d-72.8463627!2d46.2769083!3s0x4cc62d0259bf1aaf:0x9316eca4d90a9845!3m4!1m2!1d-70.5246372!2d47.4291422!3s0x4cbf16bf94042bbb:0xf3cd6640483a4002!1m0!3e1
This was our rough route. Not exact. We rode on some roads that Google Maps won't allow me to use for bicycles. Indeed, we rode on some roads that we should not have ridden on. Also Google won't let me take the Argentia Ferry to Newfoundland so the route is about 700K's longer than to needs to be. Deduct that and you come pretty close to the total that I clocked for the trip.
We had several cheats along the way:
1) Dave & Rebecca picked us up east of Kamloops & took us to their place overnight, somewhere west of Salmon Arm, B.C.
2) Rob picked us up at the top of the hill east of Field, B.C. & drove us to Calgary, Alta. so that we could have a visit before he left the country the next day.
3) We hired Ken to drive us 100K's into the wind, east of Outlook, Sask.
4) I hurt my knee and we took the bus from Upsala to Thunder Bay, Ont.

Google map Day 1
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/49.28148,-122.7560891/Rest+area/@49.1663038,-122.3622307,10.75z/data=!4m29!4m28!1m20!3m4!1m2!1d-122.681344!2d49.2256126!3s0x5485d446a941e00b:0xf4780f207ae75bcd!3m4!1m2!1d-122.6078642!2d49.2168911!3s0x5485d36176ad009b:0x2dc9b0a4acde91f!3m4!1m2!1d-122.2913332!2d49.1341004!3s0x548436aa397be1bb:0xbb3dddfe0279d58e!3m4!1m2!1d-121.7831659!2d49.2465197!3s0x548413772c35eedf:0x599f203c65cbc657!1m5!1m1!1s0x54840c181f7d1e8f:0x3057b83f6f25317f!2m2!1d-121.637477!2d49.3296846!3e1

Google map Day 2
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Rest+area/50.2072672,-121.5742345/@49.7779036,-121.3830382,9.75z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x54840c181f7d1e8f:0x3057b83f6f25317f!2m2!1d-121.637477!2d49.3296846!1m0!3e0

Google map Day 3
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/50.2072712,-121.5741836/Sundowner/@50.501115,-121.2989009,10.25z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x548015669ff8176d:0x90e8649d4297bb57!2m2!1d-121.3250091!2d50.8079863!3e1

Google map Day 4
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Sundowner/50.7217084,-119.7734149/@50.631483,-120.7381057,10z/data=!4m24!4m23!1m20!1m1!1s0x548015669ff8176d:0x90e8649d4297bb57!2m2!1d-121.3250091!2d50.8079863!3m4!1m2!1d-120.398253!2d50.6614403!3s0x537e2b7ff1c6b9ff:0xc2b1c036295bc753!3m4!1m2!1d-120.3699968!2d50.6678073!3s0x537e2c61ca0f29a1:0x2ce2a907183518d1!3m4!1m2!1d-120.313851!2d50.6713533!3s0x537e2db05c6c9567:0xdf321f38b5bd0fd0!1m0!3e0

Google map Day 5
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/50.8724563,-119.2958977/50.8157442,-119.0431451/@50.7815602,-119.2272,12z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e1

Google map Day 6
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/50.8157442,-119.0431451/51.0859321,-117.9214746/@50.910917,-118.6367016,10.75z/data=!4m19!4m18!1m15!3m4!1m2!1d-118.9894402!2d50.8373251!3s0x537ee96605b7fc95:0x57428fbaf495f1d4!3m4!1m2!1d-118.2089603!2d51.0081504!3s0x53793719f20ec37d:0x93014bb7e0275651!3m4!1m2!1d-118.1816853!2d50.9963295!3s0x537937a09b964d01:0xaa6010f7bcb4c668!1m0!3e1

Google map Day 7
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/51.0859321,-117.9214746/Swiss+Village+Inn/@51.299877,-117.6560405,10.75z/data=!4m19!4m18!1m10!3m4!1m2!1d-117.6291256!2d51.2456146!3s0x537908cf3d17dbc5:0xc1495656ba43bc25!3m4!1m2!1d-117.5209157!2d51.3018557!3s0x5379a7e21e41941f:0x92b9a19e8a3c4651!1m5!1m1!1s0x5379bf65518833c7:0x54ea6946b8faa57f!2m2!1d-116.9756!2d51.316!3e1

Google map Day 8
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Swiss+Village+Inn/Yoho+Trading+Post/@51.328582,-116.8128796,11.75z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x5379bf65518833c7:0x54ea6946b8faa57f!2m2!1d-116.9756!2d51.316!1m5!1m1!1s0x5379dfc71c8945b7:0xf4899c0631907373!2m2!1d-116.4904102!2d51.3985126!3e1

Google map Day 9
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Yoho+Trading+Post/The+Great+Divide+Lodge/@51.4241691,-116.4219526,13z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x5379dfc71c8945b7:0xf4899c0631907373!2m2!1d-116.4904102!2d51.3985126!1m5!1m1!1s0x537760cf36ee5219:0x4fa7821c74639673!2m2!1d-116.351121!2d51.4417631!3e1

Google map Day 10
Rest Day - Calgary, Alberta.

Google map Day 11
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/51.0502162,-114.1000464/51.3880028,-113.2626983/@51.2177214,-113.8477894,11z/data=!4m24!4m23!1m20!3m4!1m2!1d-113.8430106!2d51.0379705!3s0x53717c5194ccc00b:0x73032109bdd3cf83!3m4!1m2!1d-113.6810166!2d51.0355924!3s0x5373d42a6848b9ff:0x5280917cdf60857e!3m4!1m2!1d-113.5915115!2d51.2883053!3s0x5373c23608f7822d:0xa12313ccd92386b!3m4!1m2!1d-113.527979!2d51.3805276!3s0x5373eadf50a03b59:0x7c3e3eed08fdf166!1m0!3e1

Google map Day 12
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/51.3880028,-113.2626983/51.6500182,-112.1118346/@51.4381684,-112.9211987,10.5z/data=!4m19!4m18!1m15!3m4!1m2!1d-112.7074061!2d51.4621936!3s0x5373127d6b27cc4d:0xb1c9f9af1373c0f2!3m4!1m2!1d-112.7084703!2d51.4670618!3s0x537312889e496515:0x7100a5051469b830!3m4!1m2!1d-112.7215722!2d51.6467911!3s0x537368d0b96f0edb:0x762c8134db4ff4df!1m0!3e1

Google map Day 13
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/51.6500182,-112.1118346/416+2+St+W,+Oyen,+AB+T0J+2J0/@51.4380549,-111.616116,10z/data=!4m24!4m23!1m15!3m4!1m2!1d-110.4794506!2d51.3870722!3s0x530da540ae9a7237:0xb6ef341b20dac14c!3m4!1m2!1d-110.4780785!2d51.3870705!3s0x530da54757825389:0xaa9e221c2b156f4e!3m4!1m2!1d-110.4758495!2d51.3870639!3s0x530da5389db3553d:0x1fc50f43854df3ea!1m5!1m1!1s0x530da4f9c62c26e7:0x8df628146543aa3c!2m2!1d-110.4904422!2d51.3530857!3e1

Google map Day 14
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/416+2+St+W,+Oyen,+AB+T0J+2J0/104+Princess+St,+Kindersley,+SK+S0L+1S2/51.4755955,-109.0115938/@51.3601064,-109.9730802,10.25z/data=!4m15!4m14!1m5!1m1!1s0x530da4f9c62c26e7:0x8df628146543aa3c!2m2!1d-110.4904422!2d51.3530857!1m5!1m1!1s0x530e4005f3e89ccf:0x7bcf9cec533807db!2m2!1d-109.1624835!2d51.4712885!1m0!3e1

Google map Day 15
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/51.4755955,-109.0115938/51.4745002,-107.4070968/@51.3753106,-108.4154418,10.25z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e1

Google map Day 16
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/51.4745002,-107.4070968/51.4883036,-107.0550922/@51.4669328,-107.2899176,12.25z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e1
Then a truck ride, then...
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/51.5036335,-105.4521436/51.5035374,-105.2806601/@51.4998815,-105.3962352,13.25z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e1

Google map Day 17
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/51.5035374,-105.2806601/30+Railway+Ave,+Lanigan,+SK+S0K+2M0/@51.6761959,-105.0886144,11z/data=!4m19!4m18!1m10!3m4!1m2!1d-105.0159908!2d51.5036601!3s0x531cc6e989163381:0x228d939bf0b21c9!3m4!1m2!1d-105.0055428!2d51.8389031!3s0x53032de1a0f9bd7d:0x6c51df720683c5f2!1m5!1m1!1s0x53032e1878180509:0xf64aa94dd466f2d8!2m2!1d-105.0296984!2d51.8450497!3e1

Google map Day 18
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/30+Railway+Ave,+Lanigan,+SK+S0K+2M0/Foam+Lake+Campground,+529+SK-16,+Foam+Lake,+SK+S0A+1A0/@51.6899321,-104.519512,10.25z/data=!4m24!4m23!1m15!1m1!1s0x53032e1878180509:0xf64aa94dd466f2d8!2m2!1d-105.0296984!2d51.8450497!3m4!1m2!1d-103.8652156!2d51.7403563!3s0x531d57310e145837:0xc2b8d7d32832e4c3!3m4!1m2!1d-103.8625255!2d51.7395345!3s0x531d5730ec73f505:0x2bbe8e7e8e5c6350!1m5!1m1!1s0x52e2a3bca12f4fc5:0xc47450f8128104e0!2m2!1d-103.5370601!2d51.6368287!3e1

Google map Day 19
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Foam+Lake+Campground,+529+SK-16,+Foam+Lake,+SK+S0A+1A0/51.2206029,-102.4613606/@51.4197129,-103.220352,10.5z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x52e2a3bca12f4fc5:0xc47450f8128104e0!2m2!1d-103.5370601!2d51.6368287!1m0!3e1

Google map Day 20
Rest Day - Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

Google map Day 21
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/51.2206029,-102.4613606/Grandview+Municipal+Campground/@51.0833325,-101.7543825,10z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!3m4!1m2!1d-102.4485704!2d51.2101796!3s0x52e3adc1f7663ae3:0x446dad02ad43fda2!1m5!1m1!1s0x52e435445c5ddbe3:0x84922ad5635c5dfc!2m2!1d-100.7048169!2d51.1802844!3e1

Google map Day 22
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Grandview+Municipal+Campground/Moon+Lake+Campground,+Riding+Mountain+National+Park+of+Canada,+Wasagaming,+MB+R0J+2H0/@51.0254252,-100.4520035,11.25z/data=!4m39!4m38!1m30!1m1!1s0x52e435445c5ddbe3:0x84922ad5635c5dfc!2m2!1d-100.7048169!2d51.1802844!3m4!1m2!1d-100.488919!2d51.1472149!3s0x52e5c8dd2404bfaf:0x9401a8caceea05ed!3m4!1m2!1d-100.0495994!2d51.1507399!3s0x52e5ee6185cfa13b:0x6982598ac21b6226!3m4!1m2!1d-100.0560303!2d51.1445984!3s0x52e5eef4b85f72cb:0xcb79a7f0710a0812!3m4!1m2!1d-100.0557222!2d51.1440132!3s0x52e5eef4c1828889:0x60d17a5b59beff9b!3m4!1m2!1d-100.0412053!2d50.9423613!3s0x52e5e18ea015e6a7:0x824267b82bd4e13f!1m5!1m1!1s0x52e60a52e0d8af17:0xeb335d8609719fb3!2m2!1d-100.056593!2d50.8747108!3e1

Google map Day 23
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Moon+Lake+Campground,+Riding+Mountain+National+Park+of+Canada,+Wasagaming,+MB+R0J+2H0/Neepawa+Motel+R0J+1H0+Manitoba,+Neepawa,+Main+St+W/@50.5485206,-99.8556995,10.25z/data=!4m29!4m28!1m20!1m1!1s0x52e60a52e0d8af17:0xeb335d8609719fb3!2m2!1d-100.056593!2d50.8747108!3m4!1m2!1d-99.904016!2d50.2714549!3s0x52e64aa0b992dc39:0xde972540be73cf8b!3m4!1m2!1d-99.8388774!2d50.2509512!3s0x52e7cb27c67710db:0x1f033942893075a0!3m4!1m2!1d-99.8439492!2d50.2270659!3s0x52e7cae460f86927:0x83a80a43316e3deb!1m5!1m1!1s0x52e7d5c1dde8abdd:0x90e19e978ae01db!2m2!1d-99.4809494!2d50.2266282!3e1

Google map Day 24
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Neepawa+Motel+R0J+1H0+Manitoba,+Neepawa,+Main+St+W/Sunset+Motel,+2465+Saskatchewan+Ave+W+%233B5,+Portage+la+Prairie,+MB+R1N+3G3/@50.0924228,-99.0711482,10.5z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x52e7d5c1dde8abdd:0x90e19e978ae01db!2m2!1d-99.4809494!2d50.2266282!1m5!1m1!1s0x417340c5b81adccd:0xa6c2d00bdb07a4d9!2m2!1d-98.3327993!2d49.9732257!3e1

Google map Day 25
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Sunset+Motel,+2465+Saskatchewan+Ave+W+%233B5,+Portage+la+Prairie,+MB+R1N+3G3/49.9022407,-97.1508765/@49.9032786,-97.9204249,10.5z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m10!1m1!1s0x417340c5b81adccd:0xa6c2d00bdb07a4d9!2m2!1d-98.3327993!2d49.9732257!3m4!1m2!1d-98.0097777!2d50.0491053!3s0x52e9ec9e5610870b:0xb954f16a873603ce!1m0!3e1

Google map Day 26
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/49.9022407,-97.1508765/West+Hawk+Lake+Campground,+Division+No.+1,+Unorganized,+MB+R0E+2H0/@49.770104,-96.4579914,9.75z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!3m4!1m2!1d-97.0994815!2d49.8819596!3s0x52ea76d49b70bcf1:0xa4a57bf79fb5b057!1m5!1m1!1s0x52bfd2ad2e0aec63:0x8978d09aedde638a!2m2!1d-95.2117497!2d49.7459557!3e1

Google map Day 27
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/West+Hawk+Lake+Campground,+Division+No.+1,+Unorganized,+MB+R0E+2H0/49.8268766,-93.9755486/@49.640277,-94.7857047,10.5z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m10!1m1!1s0x52bfd2ad2e0aec63:0x8978d09aedde638a!2m2!1d-95.2117497!2d49.7459557!3m4!1m2!1d-94.4894448!2d49.7648417!3s0x52be088164d88b69:0xbd0cb415faa34797!1m0!3e1

Google map Day 28
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/49.8268766,-93.9755486/49.7156387,-92.5933895/@49.7238003,-93.4848652,10.25z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!3m4!1m2!1d-92.8503913!2d49.8147497!3s0x52a2b2772972cca1:0x675f549c28cc0b37!1m0!3e1

Google map Day 29
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/49.7156159,-92.5936237/49.2647425,-91.2409593/@49.4528034,-92.1086129,10.25z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e1

Google map Day 30
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/49.2647425,-91.2409593/Esso/@49.1209932,-90.9261225,11z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x52a0e9d242d1ba4f:0xf035b3b5c7dc44ba!2m2!1d-90.47196!2d49.04906!3e1

Google map Day 31
Rest Day - Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Google map Day 32
Rest Day - Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Google map Day 33
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Super+8+by+Wyndham+Thunder+Bay,+439+Memorial+Ave,+Thunder+Bay,+ON+P7B+3Y6/48.8222503,-88.5386792/@48.6091121,-88.9865543,10.75z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x4d5922277f9d545d:0x4601247cd9b1ecff!2m2!1d-89.2364241!2d48.422896!1m0!3e1

Google map Day 34
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/48.8222503,-88.5386792/48.8104488,-87.2612528/@48.8093127,-88.0770367,10.5z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e1

Google map Day 35
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/48.8104488,-87.2612528/48.7037074,-86.2532413/@48.7716128,-86.9176891,10.75z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e1

Google map Day 36
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/48.7037074,-86.2532413/48.4132766,-85.0934117/@48.5517793,-85.8601949,10.75z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e1

Google map Day 37
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/48.4132766,-85.0934117/47.4329902,-84.7330265/@47.9299641,-84.622456,9.75z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e1

Google map Day 38
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/47.4329902,-84.7330265/McCauley's+Motel,+Algoma,+Unorganized,+North+Part,+ON/@47.1380631,-84.4046334,10.25z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!3m4!1m2!1d-84.3671387!2d46.8478894!3s0x4d37c56361a6bacb:0x473a21714d382d62!1m5!1m1!1s0x4d37cfda484f9835:0x39af78e37111cf76!2m2!1d-84.3993988!2d46.8165229!3e1

Google map Day 39
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/McCauley's+Motel,+Algoma,+Unorganized,+North+Part,+ON/Carolyn+Beach+Inn+%26+Restaurant,+1+Lakeside+Dr,+Thessalon,+ON+P0R+1L0/@46.5375286,-84.0285987,10.5z/data=!4m39!4m38!1m30!1m1!1s0x4d37cfda484f9835:0x39af78e37111cf76!2m2!1d-84.3993988!2d46.8165229!3m4!1m2!1d-84.3438554!2d46.6913948!3s0x4d37cca14d1a10bd:0x2e739ca9c5f7d7df!3m4!1m2!1d-84.3190424!2d46.540287!3s0x4d36379b147f2165:0x3e8ed3404df82969!3m4!1m2!1d-84.0678413!2d46.3505362!3s0x4d366744263bd2f1:0x7bdbf9422a0df7a2!3m4!1m2!1d-84.0056982!2d46.3376877!3s0x4d36605f09a8554b:0x630e33f2ce8de3e9!3m4!1m2!1d-83.8658454!2d46.3183499!3s0x4d368c854b7feb73:0x7e6462dfa4a037ad!1m5!1m1!1s0x4d36be87016aaa2d:0x118a27a031289dd6!2m2!1d-83.5738898!2d46.2659443!3e1

Google map Day 40
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Carolyn+Beach+Inn+%26+Restaurant,+1+Lakeside+Dr,+Thessalon,+ON+P0R+1L0/46.2211396,-82.0760575/@46.2178082,-83.0508255,10.25z/data=!4m39!4m38!1m35!1m1!1s0x4d36be87016aaa2d:0x118a27a031289dd6!2m2!1d-83.5738898!2d46.2659443!3m4!1m2!1d-83.2968834!2d46.2912619!3s0x4d36b508742470f7:0x171b0c14f6c63738!3m4!1m2!1d-82.9380004!2d46.1820481!3s0x4d31428aa5a8a84b:0x814c9473ab66c87e!3m4!1m2!1d-82.7992542!2d46.1931792!3s0x4d316eeaab7a017b:0x53b75115c38d95a6!3m4!1m2!1d-82.5883533!2d46.2134443!3s0x4d3174334c0eee0f:0x91db9b6dba1def43!3m4!1m2!1d-82.5399722!2d46.213732!3s0x4d3175f573712ea3:0x1d7fee91fc202f5a!3m4!1m2!1d-82.3778379!2d46.2044285!3s0x4d3199ea0416f425:0xc5b1f708b60005cb!1m0!3e1

Google map Day 41
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/46.2211396,-82.0760575/Richard+Lake+Motel,+Crown+Ridge+Road,+Sudbury,+ON/@46.3103887,-81.6592129,10.5z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x4d2eff816c98db4d:0xe2af58d8424e47b9!2m2!1d-80.917995!2d46.4311613!3e0

Google map Day 42
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Richard+Lake+Motel,+Crown+Ridge+Road,+Sudbury,+ON/Halls+Cottages+Campsites+and+Marina,+Hall's+Quarry+Road,+Parry+Sound,+Ontario/@45.900137,-80.1515552,9.5z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x4d2eff816c98db4d:0xe2af58d8424e47b9!2m2!1d-80.917995!2d46.4311613!1m5!1m1!1s0x4d2bba7a0e06c0df:0x6402b50f7cfcb7d!2m2!1d-80.0130865!2d45.3620812!3e0

Google map Day 43
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Halls+Cottages+Campsites+and+Marina,+Hall's+Quarry+Road,+Parry+Sound,+Ontario/Bracebridge,+Ontario/@45.2000076,-79.7647514,11.25z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x4d2bba7a0e06c0df:0x6402b50f7cfcb7d!2m2!1d-80.0130865!2d45.3620812!1m5!1m1!1s0x4d2a86591569a5af:0x7b9e6032f59163f4!2m2!1d-79.3078787!2d45.0389565!3e1

Google map Day 44
Rest Day - Bracebridge, Ontario.

Google map Day 45
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Bracebridge,+Ontario/Canisbay+Lake+Campground+Office,+Unorganized+South+Nipissing+District,+ON/@45.3208544,-79.0111435,10.5z/data=!4m34!4m33!1m25!1m1!1s0x4d2a86591569a5af:0x7b9e6032f59163f4!2m2!1d-79.3078787!2d45.0389565!3m4!1m2!1d-79.2706304!2d45.0988125!3s0x4d2a7d8a8d5ad857:0x8a5d4facbdd46e10!3m4!1m2!1d-79.273016!2d45.213152!3s0x4d2a7ae241f9f01d:0xab02a71f3db71086!3m4!1m2!1d-79.2667406!2d45.2186388!3s0x4d2a7ae5a365f8dd:0xbb9f947f0897226d!3m4!1m2!1d-79.2099925!2d45.318219!3s0x4d2a73d5e6a2fdb5:0xd93b86be88be1ece!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cd5e7533fc17b99:0xcc3a9e27aa0a34c0!2m2!1d-78.5957837!2d45.5603907!3e1

Google map Day 46
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Canisbay+Lake+Campground+Office,+Unorganized+South+Nipissing+District,+ON/Sands+on+Golden+Lake,+13163+ON-60,+Golden+Lake,+ON+K0J+1X0/@45.546541,-78.2041415,10.5z/am=t/data=!4m24!4m23!1m15!1m1!1s0x4cd5e7533fc17b99:0xcc3a9e27aa0a34c0!2m2!1d-78.5957837!2d45.5603907!3m4!1m2!1d-77.5716012!2d45.504745!3s0x4cd402f76dea1241:0x5468382594dc072b!3m4!1m2!1d-77.4506008!2d45.5382282!3s0x4cd6aaedef475879:0x196812e31c8a9883!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cd1536f71708111:0x5c17750e9a07e8e1!2m2!1d-77.3545213!2d45.5932601!3e1

Google map Day 47
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Sands+on+Golden+Lake,+13163+ON-60,+Golden+Lake,+ON+K0J+1X0/45.6276046,-76.878806/@45.5442096,-77.2069275,11.75z/data=!4m24!4m23!1m20!1m1!1s0x4cd1536f71708111:0x5c17750e9a07e8e1!2m2!1d-77.3545213!2d45.5932601!3m4!1m2!1d-77.1583927!2d45.5647941!3s0x4cd15a29346f61dd:0x937ae9a70cdf12dd!3m4!1m2!1d-77.1255445!2d45.5697201!3s0x4cd15bc3ba1a79ef:0xc80affc897fe6680!3m4!1m2!1d-77.0675117!2d45.5502174!3s0x4cd15e82a731e3bf:0x22ef4094262a254e!1m0!3e1

Google map Day 48
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/45.6276046,-76.878806/Gatineau,+Qu%C3%A9bec/@45.4790409,-76.4642953,10.46z/data=!4m29!4m28!1m20!3m4!1m2!1d-76.8580689!2d45.630978!3s0x4cd16f31acc37041:0x99d99a4e0b0d65f6!3m4!1m2!1d-76.7900919!2d45.6474361!3s0x4cd16e31c251544d:0xdb85a07fd1e091b1!3m4!1m2!1d-76.4035194!2d45.5587374!3s0x4cd19aa5766515af:0x1f1699d3d6f4b0d2!3m4!1m2!1d-76.2416995!2d45.5269584!3s0x4cd18d7cd9f77545:0xebbff412db0f3450!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cce1a7e0babee53:0x7cedf5701a140956!2m2!1d-75.7012723!2d45.4765446!3e1

Google map Day 49
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Motel+Welden,+Rue+Principale,+Lachute,+Qu%C3%A9bec/Gatineau,+Qu%C3%A9bec/@45.5858606,-75.2062838,10.5z/data=!4m44!4m43!1m35!1m1!1s0x4cced988a6418259:0x2d4765a2ebdc2100!2m2!1d-74.3062033!2d45.6625945!3m4!1m2!1d-74.3306698!2d45.6577643!3s0x4ccedbda6d73aec7:0xab4f604b960ff99b!3m4!1m2!1d-74.4876606!2d45.6288963!3s0x4ccedd676b38b819:0xeb07cde242909811!3m4!1m2!1d-75.2068376!2d45.6003736!3s0x4cce43bac3823e75:0x3eb0229904cb0505!3m4!1m2!1d-75.4175087!2d45.5437794!3s0x4cce150373b49f71:0xd38c4b6a5af604d9!3m4!1m2!1d-75.6265044!2d45.4839123!3s0x4cce1a85ba8c9981:0x41c6da7269742c75!3m4!1m2!1d-75.6926328!2d45.4787416!3s0x4cce1b3ff00c153f:0x1a34b08fcd774a5e!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cce1a7e0babee53:0x7cedf5701a140956!2m2!1d-75.7012723!2d45.4765446!3e1

Google map Day 50
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Motel+Welden,+Rue+Principale,+Lachute,+Qu%C3%A9bec/Cuthbert+Chapel+(Ia),+461+Rue+de+Bienville,+Berthierville,+Quebec+J0K+1A0/@45.8639993,-73.9748636,10.5z/data=!4m29!4m28!1m20!1m1!1s0x4cced988a6418259:0x2d4765a2ebdc2100!2m2!1d-74.3062033!2d45.6625945!3m4!1m2!1d-73.9923137!2d45.7611214!3s0x4ccf2b52a7f225cf:0xe66cab02eb256c44!3m4!1m2!1d-73.6591534!2d45.9011388!3s0x4cc8c6425ce205b1:0xd0d44950d4af304d!3m4!1m2!1d-73.192368!2d46.0869945!3s0x4cc89b03743ba373:0xc19bb4c1fafc144c!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cc89afc45375135:0xfaa2dbe53655a7d6!2m2!1d-73.1757959!2d46.0905545!3e0

Google map Day 51
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Cuthbert+Chapel+(Ia),+461+Rue+de+Bienville,+Berthierville,+Quebec+J0K+1A0/46.6405279,-71.9475711/@46.3471875,-72.83131,10.25z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m10!1m1!1s0x4cc89afc45375135:0xfaa2dbe53655a7d6!2m2!1d-73.1757959!2d46.0905545!3m4!1m2!1d-72.9421137!2d46.2559274!3s0x4cc62ea4054ae935:0x46cda0403f01c511!1m0!3e1

Google map Day 52
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/46.6405279,-71.9475711/Motel+des+Cascades,+Boulevard+Monseigneur+de+Laval,+Baie-Saint-Paul,+QC/@46.9918631,-71.1213825,9.5z/data=!4m34!4m33!1m25!3m4!1m2!1d-71.5212486!2d46.7604965!3s0x4cb89ce890eb2ea9:0x6d91c0c84978b6f7!3m4!1m2!1d-71.1874929!2d46.8765463!3s0x4cb8bc331b8bae69:0x31976cf17436b4cd!3m4!1m2!1d-71.1632938!2d46.8795465!3s0x4cb8be9cbadaa043:0x6265dfe45acb8b39!3m4!1m2!1d-71.0432343!2d46.9504601!3s0x4cb8b838f0c0b875:0x711a8fecdef21677!3m4!1m2!1d-70.9722422!2d47.0007593!3s0x4cb8b62a4efe72c7:0x3253c7e9796f9a25!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cbf16b0d15a6d3f:0xf7054950332f60f2!2m2!1d-70.5202628!2d47.4399615!3e1

Google map Day 53
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Motel+des+Cascades,+907+Boulevard+Mgr+de+Laval,+Baie-Saint-Paul,+Quebec+G3Z+2V9/47.8541894,-69.5552325/@47.6388332,-70.2136174,10.75z/data=!4m29!4m28!1m25!1m1!1s0x4cbf16b0d15a6d3f:0xf7054950332f60f2!2m2!1d-70.5202628!2d47.4399615!3m4!1m2!1d-70.4247274!2d47.4572157!3s0x4cbf10836b950079:0x1e2be3a4a7035c9c!3m4!1m2!1d-70.2368811!2d47.5192816!3s0x4cbf037f54acf195:0x637b31f1566ef1e4!3m4!1m2!1d-70.1792726!2d47.611244!3s0x4cbf00b514d36703:0xd7a1481966d4fa4!3m4!1m2!1d-69.9992363!2d47.734413!3s0x4cbfad3de48ac96d:0xe7fb0a9869857c22!1m0!3e1

Google map Day 54
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/47.8541894,-69.5552325/Motel+Claude,+Avenue+de+l'accueil,+Degelis,+QC/@47.7029466,-69.2110808,11z/data=!4m19!4m18!1m10!3m4!1m2!1d-69.4812435!2d47.8061418!3s0x4cbe405e5c10431f:0x84468484cd283757!3m4!1m2!1d-69.1372643!2d47.692937!3s0x4cbe74061981d523:0xf01ee5c107d24978!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cbdb8c4eddbabef:0xa90c636021f0473a!2m2!1d-68.6439112!2d47.5443107!3e0

Google map Day 55 - car route
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Motel+Claude,+Avenue+de+l'accueil,+Degelis,+QC/Rodeway+Inn,+10039+Route+144,+Grand+Falls,+NB+E3Z+1G5/@47.3051694,-68.2604935,10.75z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cbdb8c4eddbabef:0xa90c636021f0473a!2m2!1d-68.6439112!2d47.5443107!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cbcda0b04091961:0x33f9ae4cfeb3c612!2m2!1d-67.7864605!2d47.0716242!3e0

Google map Day 56 - car route
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Rodeway+Inn,+10039+Route+144,+Grand+Falls,+NB+E3Z+1G5/46.163725,-67.585606/@46.5986795,-67.3385653,9.75z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cbcda0b04091961:0x33f9ae4cfeb3c612!2m2!1d-67.7864605!2d47.0716242!1m0!3e0

Google map Day 57 - car route
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/46.163725,-67.585606/City+Motel,+Regent+Street,+Fredericton,+New+Brunswick/@46.0254902,-67.2586405,11z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x4ca4223e929102a3:0xa9230c1bc8a337ec!2m2!1d-66.6584331!2d45.9374054!3e0

Google map Day 58 - car route
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/City+Motel,+Regent+Street,+Fredericton,+New+Brunswick/Camper+City,+Moncton,+NB/@45.8598747,-65.9652673,10z/data=!4m19!4m18!1m10!1m1!1s0x4ca4223e929102a3:0xa9230c1bc8a337ec!2m2!1d-66.6584331!2d45.9374054!3m4!1m2!1d-65.0562648!2d46.0504109!3s0x4ca0cf21426f1c09:0xe2308df3de243696!1m5!1m1!1s0x4ca0c0a03c9519c3:0xc46676db105c9d82!2m2!1d-64.8270064!2d46.1342561!3e0

Google map Day 59 - car route
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Camper+City,+Moncton,+NB/Parkview+Family+Restaurant+%26+Inn,+4670+Main+St,+Oxford,+NS+B0M+1P0/@45.9114712,-64.487061,10.75z/data=!4m15!4m14!1m5!1m1!1s0x4ca0c0a03c9519c3:0xc46676db105c9d82!2m2!1d-64.8270064!2d46.1342561!1m5!1m1!1s0x4b5f2e7b3dd8112d:0x6a8eec7b7a7e2f44!2m2!1d-63.8789214!2d45.7268486!3e0!5i1

Google map Day 60 - car route
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Parkview+Family+Restaurant+%26+Inn,+4670+Main+St,+Oxford,+NS+B0M+1P0/Trenton+Park,+119+Park+Rd,+Trenton,+NS+B0K+1X0/@45.6424778,-63.4151052,10.5z/data=!4m19!4m18!1m10!1m1!1s0x4b5f2e7b3dd8112d:0x6a8eec7b7a7e2f44!2m2!1d-63.8789214!2d45.7268486!3m4!1m2!1d-62.6454845!2d45.5894479!3s0x4b5c1eb3cf092da7:0xdaa2afda2cf2524d!1m5!1m1!1s0x4b5c1f3b7588f379:0x350c42b749719478!2m2!1d-62.6272364!2d45.6219191!3e0

Google map Day 61 - car route
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Trenton+Park,+119+Park+Rd,+Trenton,+NS+B0K+1X0/Capeway+Motel,+Nova+Scotia+Trunk+19,+Port+Hastings,+NS/@45.5427139,-62.1953809,10.5z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x4b5c1f3b7588f379:0x350c42b749719478!2m2!1d-62.6272364!2d45.6219191!1m5!1m1!1s0x4b5cfd6306cd4063:0x22b520730a706564!2m2!1d-61.408746!2d45.649993!3e0

Google map Day 62
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Capeway+Motel,+Nova+Scotia+Trunk+19,+Port+Hastings,+NS/The+Iona+Heights+Inn,+4115+NS-223,+Iona,+NS+B2C+1A3/@45.8075281,-61.2371002,11.25z/data=!4m15!4m14!1m5!1m1!1s0x4b5cfd6306cd4063:0x22b520730a706564!2m2!1d-61.408746!2d45.649993!1m5!1m1!1s0x4b5d684c74e88a49:0x26c7b5ae85d9c89f!2m2!1d-60.8175419!2d45.94716!3e1!5i1

Google map Day 63
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/The+Iona+Heights+Inn,+4115+NS-223,+Iona,+NS+B2C+1A3/The+Clansman+Motel,+Baird+Street,+North+Sydney,+NS/@46.0527117,-60.5740409,11.25z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x4b5d684c74e88a49:0x26c7b5ae85d9c89f!2m2!1d-60.8175419!2d45.94716!1m5!1m1!1s0x4b67ef0ed5f3bfc7:0x4041cb385fe73cac!2m2!1d-60.2712119!2d46.21388!3e1

Google map Day 64 - On the ferry overnight
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/The+Clansman+Motel,+Baird+Street,+North+Sydney,+NS/North+Sydney+Ferry+Terminal/@46.2071576,-60.2594957,14.71z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x4b67ef0ed5f3bfc7:0x4041cb385fe73cac!2m2!1d-60.2712119!2d46.21388!1m5!1m1!1s0x4b67efc487f046d9:0x57393712e217d034!2m2!1d-60.2438379!2d46.2110647!3e1

Google map Day 65
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Marine+Atlantic+Argentia+Ferry+Terminal,+Argentia+Terminal,+Placentia,+NL+A0B+1W0/McGrath's+Rd,+Holyrood,+NL/@47.3004681,-53.6933687,11z/data=!4m24!4m23!1m15!1m1!1s0x4b72da7c4a0bfa4b:0x8c1f69ebe90dd2ba!2m2!1d-53.9918501!2d47.2911802!3m4!1m2!1d-53.6246681!2d47.2419439!3s0x4b0d2bdbe8abbb99:0xe7a44f970a7b659!3m4!1m2!1d-53.1204302!2d47.3919357!3s0x4b0cc67bc214fc45:0xbed6563888fdad4b!1m5!1m1!1s0x4b0cc66a1ab44b03:0x2c2283f0fb1f2983!2m2!1d-53.1181059!2d47.4065594!3e1

Google map Day 66
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/McGrath's+Rd,+Holyrood,+NL/47.5605723,-52.710847/@47.4832843,-52.9795947,12z/data=!4m49!4m48!1m45!1m1!1s0x4b0cc66a1ab44b03:0x2c2283f0fb1f2983!2m2!1d-53.1181059!2d47.4065594!3m4!1m2!1d-53.0631512!2d47.4619926!3s0x4b0cb8056c3d033d:0x8abaece5f92d3197!3m4!1m2!1d-53.0337122!2d47.4900784!3s0x4b0cb9d4b1a9d7ef:0x24393ae0842dd8ed!3m4!1m2!1d-52.9580189!2d47.5178589!3s0x4b0cba22aa356fd7:0x772423c96d45cba1!3m4!1m2!1d-52.9548168!2d47.5189455!3s0x4b0cba3d994039c9:0xea42950d6a621db8!3m4!1m2!1d-52.9221334!2d47.5398786!3s0x4b0cbaf513cbaa4b:0x6883e2d5cf0be4b6!3m4!1m2!1d-52.8945149!2d47.5286913!3s0x4b0cbb00899989bd:0xf8f75313b54dacd7!3m4!1m2!1d-52.8572375!2d47.5318097!3s0x4b0cbb149196fb61:0xa031d3b162d87613!3m4!1m2!1d-52.8517514!2d47.5339635!3s0x4b0cbb15526d8bc9:0xb8bdcf444317ecfe!1m0!3e1

Good luck.

Tariffs Make America Rich Again? I think not.

Sales Taxes Make America Rich Again? I think not.

I just have to make a comment about the American President and his proclamation a couple of weeks back (Dec. 4, 2018 Tweet) that tariffs would, "Make America Rich Again."
He justified this in part by saying that the treasury was ,"...taking in $billions in Tariffs."
For all of the commotion that this Tweet caused, I didn't hear any of the pundits mention that a Tariff is just a Sales Tax.
Rather than the Sales Tax being collected at the retail level, where the goods pass between retailer and consumer, the tax is collected at the border where the goods pass between factory and distributor (or distributor and wholesaler, depending on the business arrangement) and this tax, along with mark-up is passed along to the final consumer.
Now I know that they call it something different and it's not collected as an add-on at the till in the store but, to the Treasury and to the consumer's wallet, it looks and works exactly the same as a Federal Sales Tax.
And if it looks like a duck....
So the President might as well have tweeted that he was Making America Rich Again by ,"...taking in $billions in Sales Tax."
This might be one way to make 'America' rich but I don't know if it helps the average American to get rich. Or even helps the average American to get by.
I also have to add that, as of a few years ago, if Walmart was its own country it would be China's 5th largest trading partner. That means that Walmart sells more Chinese manufactured goods than most countries.
I'll speculate that the poorest 20% of Americans shop more at Walmart than the richest 20% of Americans. If this is true then the Tariffs (or Sales Taxes) aimed at Chinese goods would be disproportionately paid by the poorest Americans. Those, "... $billions in Tariffs," would be disproportionately paid by the poorest Americans.
I won't say that adding a sales tax to Chinese goods which disproportionately affects the poor is a bad trade strategy. I can't tell how this will turn out. I will say that phrasing it in such a way would make it a much harder policy for the American electorate to swallow.

Leveraged Charitable Donations - Don't fall for it!

I  ran across this three times in the first half of 2013. Twice where I work and once where my wife works. This scam had been around for years before then and is still around today (2017). You can find the most recent convictions on the CRA website. And, just to be clear, the convictions are of the people who fell for the scam. That's right. The scam victims are the ones who pay the fines and possibly go to jail.

Leveraged Charitable Donations are, to my mind, one of the most obvious frauds in the pantheon of scams. It seems that in a lot of cases the scammers tell you right up front that you will get in trouble with the Canada Revenue Agency, but with a combination of Mumbo Jumbo and Pixie Dust you can just blow them off and not pay your taxes. And what do you have to do in order to thumb your nose at the folks who can put you in jail? Why, just open your wallet and hand over some of your hard-earned cash to the scammer and he'll give you a 'Get out of Jail Free" card.

Okay, the scammer will use different words to describe the chain of events as well as what he will give you in exchange for your hard-earned cash, but, for all the good his explanation will do you, you might as well use mine, it's just as accurate...and yet people still seem to fall for it.

Just in case you have been approached about making a donation to a charity that is offering to give you a receipt for three times-, or four times-, or six times-, or more times as much as you give as a donation, you should know that the scheme is a fraud. The receipt you will receive is valueless.

If you have already given money to one of these scammers then it might help to read the note that I wrote to one of the guys at work, who is in the same shoes as you.

Here it is:

Hi Dan:

I just felt like I had to say more about the organization that I think you made a charitable donation to. As you know, I believe it to be a fraud. A scam. You don’t need to take my word for it. Look into it for yourself before you do something that will injure your finances further.

First – Don’t use the Tax Receipt that this organization gave you until after you talk to the Canada Revenue Agency. Tell them all the particulars and get an opinion in writing. Don’t worry, you won’t get in trouble. Until you try to use the receipt you’re just a victim, not part of the scam. You might also want to talk to a tax lawyer and the RCMP. If you’re in a hurry to file your tax return, you can file it in the usual way, without using the receipt and, if the CRA later says “That receipt’s fine,” you can file an amendment and still get the big refund you were planning on.

If you file a tax return with a bogus receipt and the CRA rejects it later (and it could be 2, 3 or 4 years down the road before they get around to checking into it) the usual penalty for that sort of thing goes like this:

Pay back the tax refund you got + pay the taxes that you should have paid + pay an equal amount as a penalty + pay interest on the total amount (at about 1% per month) all the way back to when the tax was due. That could be 2 or 3 or 4 years and you could easily end up owing 3 times your original tax bill.

Check out this tax court decision: http://www.carters.ca/pub/bulletin/charity/2009/chylb184.htm

You can get the jist of it by reading ‘B: Facts.’ Donation and tax deduction made in 2001 and legal decision made in 2009. That guy got a bill for double tax plus 84 months interest and he lost his original “donation.” With compound interest it came to about five times what his original tax bill would have been. Oh yeah, and he got a lawyer’s bill too.

The folks you gave your money to told you that their tax scheme was legal and that the CRA might threaten you but there was nothing that they could do about it. Rest assured that THERE IS something that the CRA can do about it. They can come after you.  They can garnish your pay cheque. They can seize your assets. And while you try to stone-wall the CRA you are giving the guys who took your money more time to pack their bags and head off to The Bahamas or Grand Cayman or someplace else where they have palm trees and rum drinks and no extradition back to Canada.

CRA website references -

A quote from this CRA page - http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/lrt/vshlt-eng.html

"Mass-Marketed Tax Shelters

Mass marketed gifting tax shelter arrangements are made for the primary purpose of avoiding the payment of the required taxes rather than raise funds for charities. Mass marketed gifting tax shelters include schemes where taxpayers receive a charitable donation receipt with a higher value than what they paid. This can typically be four or five times their out of pocket cost.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) audits every mass-marketed tax shelter arrangement and no arrangement has been found to comply with the Income Tax Act."

Let me just take a quote from that last sentence because it bears repeating. “…no arrangement has been found to comply with the Income Tax Act.”

Here’s a lawyer’s web page: http://www.troublewithtaxes.com/services/donations.html

And another: http://taxinterpretations.com/?p=9274

You’re not the first person to be drawn into a scheme like this and you won’t be the last. As you can see from the CRA website, and others you can find on Google, there have been thousands of folks who have fallen victim over the last decade. All I’m saying is that you need to protect yourself. Ask someone who knows.

The CRA writes the tax rules, they interpret the tax rules, they enforce the tax rules. If some guy tells you, “The CRA doesn’t know what they’re talking about when it comes to tax law,” you should ask yourself, “Why does that guy want me to believe his story?” …..And then you should check your wallet.

If, after you’ve done your due diligence, you show me a note from the CRA that says this charity is on the up-and-up and your tax receipt is good, I’ll buy you lunch.

Good luck.

Brent

                                                                     - 30 -

So here's how my first contact with this scam went:

A new guy got hired at work. The second or third day he was there he started talking about money. This immediately seemed strange to me simply because I'm usually the first person to mention money in a conversation.

He said he hated giving money to the greedy government (a common enough complaint) and said he had a great tax shelter, “if you want to get in on it.” He said he hadn't paid taxes the previous year and wouldn't have to pay taxes this year.

(Two things caught me here: First, I'm pretty conversant with the normal tax deductions and tax credits that are available to the average 'wage-earner,' I use most of them. I couldn't think of any that would allow me to pay no tax at all. Logic would dictate that if such a thing existed, the government would see it and slam that door quickly. After all, the government wants my money.

Second, was the phrase “if you want to get in on it.” Think about that phrase. “If you want to get in on it” suggests that there is something special or hidden to “get in” on. It also suggests that the person saying it has some sort of special access or may be a gate-keeper of some sort....or it might be an innocent turn of phrase. I'm a tolerant person, so I heard him out.)

He knew a guy who operated a charity. This charity provided AIDS drugs to orphans in Africa. They were doing a lot of good work. They needed donations to continue their good work. They needed donations so badly that they were willing to lend me the money to donate. (Huh?!?) If I donated $1000 they would lend me another $5000 to donate and give me a receipt for the full amount. $6000.

I needed details. If the charity already has this $5000 what's this deal about them handing it to me so that I can hand it right back? They'd only be up by my $1000 donation so what's the thing about the inflated receipt? Would I be agreeing to some sort of a “subscription donation” (my phrase) where a donation of $1000 would oblige me to a further $5000 donation in the future? Like $1000 per year for the next 5 years?

(And then the story changed.)

“No,” He said. “Drug companies are greedy.” He told me that drug companies are greedy and always screwing people. (a common enough complaint). AIDS drugs are especially over-priced, he said. This charity could get AIDS drugs in one of the former Soviet states for 1/6th of what the greedy drug companies were charging in North America. They would take my $1000, go to Uzbekistan to buy 6 times the drugs they could buy in Canada for the same price. They would then carry those drugs on their books at the Canadian price of $6000 and give me a receipt for that amount.

(This second story is substantially different from the first. There is no longer any talk of them loaning me money to donate. The talk is now about the charity committing fraud, by juggling their books, in order to give me an inflated tax receipt. If the first option was onerous the second was out-right illegal. I don't want to be involved in a fraud at any level of the operation.)

It took about 10 minutes of me saying, “No, that's not right,” for my co-worker to stop pushing me to come to a meeting, meet the guy who ran the charity, and “get in on it.” He said that lots of people would be at the meeting, lawyers, businessmen, graduates of Robert Kiyosaki financial courses too.

(“Come to a meeting,” is also one of the phrases that raises flags with me. At a 'Meeting' the people you are dealing with will be prepared with questions and answers and can steer the conversation. If you aren't already prepared you won't have time to check facts. You also don't know who the other people at the meeting are. The group could easily contain a claque, plant or confederate to pump up excitement about a statement, verify the “truth” of a falsehood or divert attention from weak points in the sales pitch. A claque can also start the rush, as in “Why only thousand dollars? This is such a great deal I'll donate $10,000. I'd donate more if I had it. Do you take MasterCard?” As a rule of thumb, I always consider any non-work related meeting to be a sales pitch. There could possibly be more than one claque.

“Come to a meeting,” also feels wrong for several other reasons. First, the co-worker and I aren't friends, we're co-workers. We've known each other for a short time. We've never socialized or done anything together away from the workplace. Why would he choose a sales meeting for our first off-site socialization? Second, if he has already made his charitable donation for the year why does he feel the need to accompany me? If I had bought a mutual fund that I was really pleased with, I wouldn't insist that you come to my bank with me and buy the same fund form the same salesman while I watched. I might tell you that I ran across a really good deal and that you should look into it; ask your banker or investment dealer for some information or an opinion. But that's about as far as I would go. Give you some information and leave the ball in your court. Third, if he was planning to make his donation for the year, why would he go to a meeting? Couldn't he just mail a cheque?

As an aside; Robert Kiyosaki doesn't impress me. I've read his most popular book and seen him interviewed on TV, seen clips of his seminars on the web. He strikes me as someone who makes his living from the credulous and ill-informed.

But what my co-worker had said caught my attention so I did my research on the CRA website plus a few others...Suspicion confirmed.)

A couple of weeks later my co-worker again brought up the topic of the African Charity. He was quite forceful in his insistence that I should take advantage of the opportunity. I told him that I had checked the CRA website and I was going to have to pass. It looked like a receipt from this charity would be no good. I clearly remember him saying, quite angrily, “The CRA doesn't know what it's talking about!” (Big Red Flag.) “They can bluster, they can threaten but there's nothing they can do.” (Alarm bells.)

I looked him in the eye and said, “It's fraud.” That pretty much ended the conversation but he stewed for the rest of the day. He didn't come to work the next day....or ever again.

(Afterwards I wondered if he was a scam victim or a perpetrator. Lots of times victims of scams become cheerleaders for that same scam. It helps assuage their doubts to see others drawn in. The thinking goes something like, “Well, if Bob thinks it's a good idea too then I can't be wrong.”

I started to wonder if my co-worker was part of the scam after my wife told me that she had been approached about a similar proposal at the office tower where she works. I'm a construction worker and folks from my work environment and hers would rarely cross paths. I had a thought that if my co-worker was a scam perpetrator he would need a partner to play 'the guy who runs the charity.' It would be an easy thing for the person promoting the scheme in the office tower to play 'the guy' on a Monday when my co-worker brings in prospective victims from the construction site and then my co-worker could play 'the guy' on a Tuesday when his partner brings in prospective victims form the office tower.....Just a thought.)

My experience with scam victims in the past leads me to believe most will reject any appeal to reason and be drawn to the promise of 'something for nothing' like a moth gets drawn to a candle flame. And with similar results. I expect my story will either be preaching to the converted or falling on deaf ears. But if I can save one person from losing their house I will have fulfilled my Cub Scout promise to "...do a good turn for somebody every day."