BIZARRE TARIFFS CANADA SLAPS ON OTHER COUNTRIES.

Tariffs are enjoying a bit of a resurgence of late. The Americans hit us with tariffs on steel and aluminum, and on Canada Day we responded with a scattergun blast of retaliatory tariffs on everything from ketchup to lawn mowers. On the whole, this is a painful exercise for a country that is normally fanatically pro free trade. With an average tariff rate of only 1.56 per cent, Canada is one of the least tariff-ey countries on earth. But within that 1.56 per cent, the federal government is still slapping secret taxes on a lengthy and Byzantine list of everything from coffee machines to high heels to coffins. Below, a quick tour through the Canadian tariff schedule, one of the country’s most baffling government documents.

PETER POWER / THE CANADIAN PRESS The U.S. recently hit Canada with tariffs on steel and aluminum, and on July 1 we responded with more than $16-billion worth of retaliatory tariffs.

PETER J. THOMPSON / NATIONAL POST Davids Footwear on Toronto’s Bloor Street. Most shoes are hit with an 18 per cent tariff, but “clerical or ecclesiastical” shoes only pay 7.5 per cent.