canada customs backlog

[back alley]

info for canadian members...

Serious Delay in Delivery of International Mail
Dateline: 10/19/04

There is a long delay in the delivery of international mail in Canada due to a backlog in clearing Canada Customs in Vancouver, according to Canada Post. Parcels are currently taking about five weeks to get through Customs.

The Customs centre in Vancouver has more than 150,000 packages waiting to be processed. The backlog is putting a strain on equipment, tying up warehouse space, and generating about 160 complaint calls a day to Canada Post.

The Vancouver Customs clearing centre has been experiencing backlogs since August 2002.

There used to be five Customs clearing centres for mail coming into Canada - in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal. Early in 2004 the U.S. Postal Service stopped shipping to the Calgary and Winnipeg Customs centres because of a difficulty with flights.

The Canada Border Services Agency closed the Winnipeg and Calgary Customs centres this spring, leaving only three Customs clearing centres.
The Canada Border Services Agency has told Canada Post that the backlog will be cleared in a month

 

[former member]

Do they think that the backlog will be clear just in time for Christmas mail! If the backlog is bad now, what will it be like with the Holiday season!

PS. Should I wait before sending items to Canada?

 

[GeneW]

Joe, it really depends on what part of Canada you live in. I've had many incoming packages in the past four weeks and they've all come in a timely fashion. My international stuff comes through the Toronto facility. My Fed-2 from the Ukraine took about ten days to arrive.

Gene

 

[back alley]

probably true gene.

i think most of my stuff comes in through vancouver.
just my luck.

joe

 

[FrankS]

I mentioned this before, a part for my motorcycle took 11 weeks to get to me near Toronto from California. That was last Spring.

 

[back alley]

frank, i remember that but i was hoping it was an anomaly and not the norm.

joe

 

[dwpayne]

I've been waiting ~12 weeks now for a camera from Ukraine. A lens from around the same time period (different vendor) was here in 2 weeks-ish. Still not clear if it's lost or somehow delayed in Customs. Like Gene I'm near Toronto. Stuff from the US gets to me in less than 2 weeks. The vendor is trying to trace from his end. Sigh. Oh well, I've got other stuff to play with.

 

[back alley]

there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.
my 135 lens was bought weeks after the 100 and it showed this past friday.

my plan originally was to buy only from ebay canada or canadian stores online but there is no control over where stuff i want will be from. the canadian stuff does show up sooner though.

joe