Alex MacKenzie

Father, husband, O/O of MacKenzie furniture and MacKenzie hay sales along with my wife and kids.

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

@MaizeingPete @joejansen1 Rogers had ended up being worse than Telus reception wise. No mobility in mobile phones these days

[lubricant @darren_lubedude]

Here is a real-world example of how Canada's retaliatory tariffs actually work.

We are a Canadian manufacturer employing 40+ people in Ontario.

We buy steel drums from an American manufacturer in Ohio.

We bring the EMPTY drums into Canada.

We fill those drums in Ontario with products WE MANUFACTURE IN CANADA.

Then we ship the finished Canadian product back to customers in the United States.

Simple enough.

Except Canada has now imposed a 50% retaliatory tariff on U.S.-made steel drums under tariff code 7310.10.00.

So let me understand the strategy.

Who exactly are we trying to hurt?

The American steel company already sold the steel.

The American drum manufacturer already sold the drum.

Our American customer still needs the finished product.

The company writing the cheque for Canada's 50% tariff is us — the Canadian manufacturer employing Canadian workers.

And before someone says, "Buy Canadian" — we have a Canadian drum supplier in Burlington. They're busy and their lead times are several weeks longer than our Ohio supplier.

And here's the irony:

The Canadian drum plant is itself owned by an American company.

So we are potentially adding enormous cost and working-capital requirements to a Canadian manufacturer in an attempt to punish the United States.

There may be duty-drawback relief available because we're re-exporting these drums as part of our finished product — and we're investigating that now.

But think about the administrative absurdity we've created:

Import an American drum → Canada charges a 50% retaliatory tariff → Canadian workers fill it with Canadian-manufactured product → ship it back to America → Canadian company applies to recover the tariff.

That's not industrial policy.

That's friction.

If the objective is to protect and grow Canadian manufacturing, we need to start asking a very basic question before imposing retaliatory tariffs:

Who actually writes the cheque?

@ronmortgageguy @StephenPunwasi

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

@jzantinge2 Updates: cleared out and dried up, mercifully

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

@jzantinge2 Was ok here near Alliston but clouds moving in, I suppose you are correct

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

@WxOntario1 @aritch20 This is May weather, cool damp nights and a damp soil gonna make it tough to get dry hay in less than 5 days I’d guess

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

@NickPloeg Us too! Fingers crossed we miss the bulk of the snow

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

@NickPloeg Kate and I were too chicken to open those coolers!

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

@NickPloeg RJMs auction:
4wd bus, Farm plates…just sayin’

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

@NickPloeg This lady will show up at your door

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

@VB_Elevators That sort of thing should be done in the dark

[Lazy Canadian Entrepreneur @JimChuong]

This is your Net on $1M salary:

Gross income: $1,000,000

Federal Tax: $305,000
Provincial Tax: $191,000
CPP Contributions: $4,055.50
EI Premiums: $1,036.80
Ontario Health Premium: $900

Total Deductions: $501,992.30

Net Pay: $498,007.70

Welcome to Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

@tmonteIH It takes a lot of patience, and you’ll forever be playing with settings, but it’s oh so satisfying.

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

@TSmith1867 The 88 series IH’s aren’t a fan of colder temps either, good batteries and a block heater go a long way, but sometimes one has to get out that nose candy.

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

@apasztor82 @AmericanImp No bag here, but every tractor and truck has window foam, paper towels, hand wipes, a garbage can/bag, and reusable gloves for changing hyd hoses etc. can’t stand dirty windows or greasy steering wheels. Cordless vacuum resides in the service truck too.

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

@NickPloeg Indeed

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

@albadonadam @Rogers @Bell @TELUSsupport isn’t any better. Bounces between 3G/lte/5g/5g+ and eats the battery. Lock it on lte/3g to make calls or they get dropped, even then I have to stop moving. Mobile phone it isn’t.

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

Long days and late nights for these kind folks but they’re still smiling!

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

@rooster_pimp I’d been thinking the same thing

[Alex MacKenzie @mackfurn]

@farmmillennial @jmflynn74 @Citrowske_L @BEisenhart We pulled our kids out of public school a year ago, put them in a local private Christian school. They are learning twice as much and are much more social. Same with any of the home schooled kids. Good on ya for keeping them at home, they’ll thank you later.