An Extra Day In Jasper, AB

We spent an extra day in Jasper to take it all in and have a rest day from the fairly hectic pace we had been moving. We slept late, had a really great breakfast and started the day's activities with another walk through town and the residential areas. We got back to the motel and decided to go shopping (and Lord knows, not together!). Capt. Larry dropped Jane off in downtown and went to the grocery to pick up a few items, and then to a gas station to top the tank off. Jane was happily on her own for a few hours

We want to digress here a moment and make a statement about shopping in Canada. Transacting business here is nothing like in the states, because you never know how the final bill is going to turn out when you use American money or debit cards. For the past several weeks the Canadian dollar (CAD) has exchanged at around 96-98 cents for one USD. That's an exchange that favors the Canadians by 2-4% when they receive a USD. But of course any change that is made is in CAD so they reap a little more depending on how much is exchanged.

Totem pole in Jasper, next to train station

We anticipated this and made it a point to bring along a wad of small bills and change, so that we could exchange on a 1:1 basis and just eat the exchange differential. But noooooooo! We went to a McDonald's and ordered an Egg McMuffin and two senior coffees. The bill came to $5.50 CAD. But, when Jane went to pay with USD, the clerk said she had to recalculate, and it came to $6.05 USD. That's a 10% rate that McDonald's is charging to exchange USD to CAD at the point-of-sale. Plus they get the additional 2-4%, when convert the USD to CAD at the Canadian bank. That, our friends, is what is called a racket! Not every retailer does this, even though the probably could, for possible fear of pissing off the purchaser. Then there's the taxes. One of our lodging invoices shows the room charge ($124.95 CAD), and then the taxes. There's the DMF charge of $3.75, the GST charge of $6.43, and the PST charge of $6.43. We know that this also exists in the states with bed taxes, sales taxes, etc., but just wanted to point out that on this invoice that represents and additional 13.3% added to the already exorbitant room rate (this was a Travelodge) which brings the bill to $141.56 for a one night's stay in what in the states would probably go for $89-99 USD. While we have similar rates in the states, when you calculate these taxes on much higher room rates you tend to get "checkout shock." We've inquired what the additional charges would be, knowing that they vary somewhat among the provinces, but are always told that it can't be calculated until the final bill is tallied (baloney!).

Then there's the apparent sales taxes (called GST = Goods and Services Tax) and ecological container taxes on anything that is recyclable (Canada is big on recycling, which is a good thing, but we don't know if this is refunded when you do recycle or this is what you pay for buying aluminum cans, glass bottles, or plastic bottles).

Anyone know what an 8-way stop is on an intersection with 2 two lane roads?

So, we go to the Saskatchewan provincial liquor store. We purchase a 1.75 L. bottle of "cheap" vodka for $49.00 CAD and a 15-pack of "cheap" beer for 20.74 (it was the manager's special!) totaling $69.74. At checkout there's an LCT tax of $6.97 (i.e. 10% sales tax, we think), a GST tax of $3.49 (another 5%), and a "container deposit" of $1.70 (add 2.4%), bringing the total to $81.90 for a bottle of vodka and a 15-pack (not 18 like in the states) of beer. Plus, we're paying with a credit card that we know will pay an additional "exchange fee." That's 17.4% in charges added to our beer and vodka purchase. We guessed that the Canadian government does this to make the drinkers (and probably smokers- Jane said she thought cigarettes were going for $8/pack) pay more for these vices, because they add to the medical costs. All we can say is there must be a lot of sober, non-smoking Canadians who will immediately volunteer how wonderful their healthcare is! We Americans can't wait for Obamacare to fully kick in so we will be more like our Canadian brethren!!!

But all of that is nothing compared to what you're going to hear next. When Capt. Larry checked out at the grocery, the cashier said something about a bag. Since he didn't understand, he asked to repeat. She mumbled something again about a bag, but he didn't get what she was asking, so he asked her to repeat for a third time. Apparently frustrated with this stupid American, she clearly said, "do you want a bag?" Dumbfounded he thought, "well hell yes, I want a bag. I've got 11 items that I've got to get to the car, and I really don't feel like make 3 or 4 trips you st....". As she was putting the items in the bag she asked, "will one bag be enough?" "Yes, one bag will be enough. (even though at Wal-Mart back in the states he'd be walking out with a minimum of 4 bags!)." So, he got his bag and headed back to the motel. Jane arrives shortly later with her purchases and relates that at one shop, the said that they would (grudgingly) "give" her a bag today, but they were going to start charging for plastic bags next week. Folks, this is a big tourist town. The prices are already high and tourists typically don't carry around those ecologically friendly cloth bags. Bottom line, if you come to Canada, pad your budget big time, so you can support their Obamacare. Step down from podium.