Along the same lines but a different story....
Canada Post struggles to clear parcel backlog
People growing angry as international parcels delayed up to six weeks
Lora GrindlayThe Province
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
CREDIT: Jason Payne, The ProvinceJim Bain, a communications manager for the postal service, stands with some of the 150,000 packages waiting for clearance.
If you are waiting for Canada Post to deliver international parcels, be patient -- if you have any patience left.
Canadians expecting international parcels are waiting up to six weeks for delivery because of a major backlog at the Canada Border Services Agency in Vancouver.
Canada Post's Bob Taylor said more than 150,000 parcels are stockpiled at the Vancouver mail-processing plant on Georgia Street waiting to be inspected and cleared by customs. The parcels would fill 45 tractor-trailers and are taking up 100,000 square feet of space.
They fill more than 1,700 large metal baskets, or monotainers, that hold between 30 and 50 parcels each.
Taylor said Canada Post is getting 160 phone calls a day from increasingly frustrated people.
"We want to get the word out that it's customs that need to add more staff so we can get this backlog cleared up," he said. "The other thing is . . . people are starting to think about Christmas."
The backlog is due to a 30-per-cent increase in incoming international parcels at the Vancouver plant. The mail began stacking up in the spring when the U.S. Postal Service stopped shipping mail to Calgary and Winnipeg.
The Vancouver mail plant is the only international intake centre for Western Canada. Toronto and Montreal also handle international parcels and are experiencing higher volumes. They may soon be backlogged, too, said Taylor.
Faith St. John of the Canada Border Services Agency said they hope to have the backlog cleared by Christmas. "That's our big goal," she said.
"CBSA appreciates it's important for people to receive their mail. But it's also important to remember that CBSA's mandate is to ensure dangerous goods such as drugs and weapons don't enter Canada through the mail."
Customs officials have the legal authority to examine any piece of mail that weighs over 30 grams either by X-raying or opening it.
"We are looking at the process of how the mail goes through the customs mail centre, and we're working with Canada Post to see if we can improve the process for the flow of mail," St. John said.
"We've brought in additional staff. We had 10 new people come in last week and nine new people this week. We've transferred them from other areas to work on the backlog."
Taylor said outgoing mail isn't being impeded, but friends or families overseas should try to mail their packages earlier so they are cleared by customs and delivered by Christmas.
"We have been told the customs department have said it's got to get cleaned up, and they are giving them three weeks or so to do that. Let's hope it happens," said Taylor.
"If you have a grandmother in Scotland that is going to send you a cake, ask her to send it a little earlier this year."
Sorry, no link, just copied from another site. Patience we must have. Not keen on that backlog though and it's not entirely representative. Some stuff shows quickly, some not so quickly with no real explanation for the difference.
