Child porn, drugs coming into Canada through unchecked mail 

By Tom Godfrey

Canada Post's Gateway postal station in Mississauga at Dixie Rd. and Eglinton Ave. (DAVE THOMAS/Toronto Sun)

TORONTO - Some international mail and parcels suspected of containing drugs, child porn or even parts for weapons are being allowed into Canada without checks by border officers due to a lack of staff, customs workers say.
Skids of mail arriving at the Gateway postal facility, on Dixie Rd. in Mississauga, are not being examined despite protests by some members of the Customs and Immigration Union of a possible breach of security, officers said in a complaint.
The Canada Border Services Agency is responsible for checking international mail arriving in Canada for contraband.
Frontline CBSA officers said eight skids of “enforcement-targeted mail” were ordered released last week by a superintendent because of a lack of resources.
But CBSA spokesman Antonella Di Girolamo said the allegations “are not consistent” with their information.
“The CBSA is responsible for ensuring that all items entering Canada are admissible and meet all of the necessary legislative and regulatory requirements,” Girolamo said by e-mail.
Border officers use a risk-management approach in the examination of goods, people and conveyances, she said.
“This risk-management approach is required at our postal operations as well, due to the large volume of international parcels,” Di Girolamo said.
Officers conducting checks on one skid slated for release recently found four packages containing cocaine and others with hate propaganda and parts of prohibited weapons, officers said.
And on Tuesday there were three seizures of heroin found in parcels with no forwarding addresses.
“The mass release of all this mail makes me wonder who is supposed to be looking out for the best interest of the Canadian public,” one CBSA officer said. “We are tasked to protect the borders, yet we let everything in without checking.”
The officer said the release of suspected goods is “very close to being a criminal act.”
Ron Moran, president of the Customs and Immigration Union, said the “mass release” of mail is rare and only occurs in the Toronto area.
“This is the first time this has been brought to my attention by members,” Moran said. “That this is happening is totally wrong and bordering on criminal.”
He said some of the mail being released was “flagged for checks” by CBSA officers on suspicion of containing drugs, weapons, child porn or hate literature.
“This can present a possible breach of security,” Moran said. “We believe this is being done by management as a cost-saving measure.”
The plant is one of the largest in Canada and processes millions of pieces of international mail and packages yearly.