So I ordered a new part for one of my motorcycles from an eBay seller. He shipped it using regular USPS/Canada Post service. From the time USPS recieved it to the time I got it was 15 working days (3 weeks). I though that was abnormally long. Usually I can get a package from the US in as little as 5 days.

I then see a news article on TV tonight saying that there's a huge backlog of packages in the Canada Customs office in Vancouver. They are about 7 to 10 days behind getting all packages examined coming into western Canada. Part of the given reason is that both the Calgary and Winnipeg offices are closed and all incoming packages go to Vancouver to clear customs. Van is looking to hire more people to process the extra load.

What the article wasn't clear on is why the Calgary and Winnipeg offices are closed. Is this due to the work-to-rule and strike policies that the Public Service Alliance union has in place right now? Or are these closures permanent? I can't find any information on this anywhere. Anyone know what's going on? Having a Canada Customs office that can process imported goods right in Calgary is fantastic. You can save at least 3 days of shipping time by having the goods fly directly to here.

Chris.

 

the closures arent permanent.... but some workers have to stay working... or else our economy will be screwed.... because i know when i clear customs they are open for large companies... not smaller parcels(private shipments)

they already make enough money!

 

God damn. I'm glad to see my tax dollars hard at work. Here I though Calgary was one of the fastest growing cities in Canada, yet we lost our Environment Canada office and now we've lost our Canada Post Customs office.

Better funnel some more into the gun registry. We can't lose that.

So, with the huge backlog and lack of labor, they never bothered to charged me any GST or brokerage fee. The box just arrived through Canada Post clear of any outstanding charges. They screwed themselves out of $12. Do you see a vicious cycle here?

Chris.

 

GST was supposed to be temporary anyway. What ever happened to that?

 

I've seen the post office start to bill brokerage/taxes/duty after the package is delivered - much like FedEx does.

I've noticed delays with revenue canada too - I just assumed it was part of the work to rule BS.

 

Hopefully this is just a temporary measure, given that I do a lot of my shopping online. As of late, I have noticed packages from the US and the UK taking upwards of a month, whereas before 10 business days at most was the norm.

Thereagain, if the delay means no brokerage/gst/duties which like others, I have also noticed, it might just well be a good sacrifice to make, providing my good don't mysteriously get lost being shipped from depot to depot unecessarily.

Asif

 

Do ya think just maybe those politicians ........................

L I E D ?

 

That's true if USPS passes the package off to Purolator. PBB Global handles all of Purolator's customs brokering. Purolator handles larger packages that your local postman would not normally deliver.

If your local Canada Post postman makes the delivery, he'll leave you a card in your mailbox telling you to goto your local post office to get your package if you owe money.

Chris.

 

You know what I'm the most worried about the most is packages getting lost in Vancouver. I've heard some absolute horror stories of other Canada Post customs offices. The Calgary office is pretty on top of their game and rarely lose anything. I'm never worried about using Canada Post. But sending everything through Van is a different story. How soon before something disappears? Then you have a real mess to clean up and get sorted out with the seller and Canada Post/USPS.

 

Income taxes were the same way too way back when.