Canada Post has only 25 inspectors nationwide to spot contraband by mail, says the Senate sponsor of a bill to expand police powers. Federal law currently prohibits police from intercepting mail in transit even if it is suspected to contain guns or drugs..“While an item is in the mail the only option the police have is to work closely with one of the 25 inspectors at Canada Post, 25 to cover the whole country,” said Senator Pierre Dalphond (Que.), a former federal judge. The law must be changed, added Dalphond. “What are we waiting for?” he told the Senate..Dalphond sponsored Bill S-256 An Act To Amend The Canada Post Corporation Act that would permit police to intercept mail in transit that is suspected of containing contraband. Current practice sees postal inspectors or Customs officers tip off police to suspicious mail for follow-up once it is delivered to a listed address..“My bill is an attempt to put an end to the perception our postal service is the best way to ship illegal drugs and other illegal materials,” said Senator Dalphond. Police already have authority to intercept shipments in transit at private courier companies including Purolator, a Canada Post subsidiary, he said..Canada Post in an earlier Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons said in 2021 its inspectors intercepted 3,457 shipments containing contraband worth $14.3 million. “The illicit substances ranged from alcohol to illicit cannabis, opioids, ecstasy pills, methamphetamine and powder substances, etcetera,” wrote staff..“Canada Post handles billions of items per year,” said Dalphond. “In 2020 Canada Post delivered 6.4 billion items.”.Dalphond said privacy protection for mail in transit dated from the Confederation era. “This principle dates back to 1867 with the passage of the Post Office Act,” he said. “At that time it was inconceivable to interfere with the operations of the Royal Mail or to read the content of letters one was tasked with delivering. In short, the objective of this law was to protect privacy.”.“A police officer who has reasonable grounds to suspect that an item in the mail contains an illegal drug or a handgun cannot be authorized pursuant to a warrant issued by a judge to intercept and seize an item until it is delivered to the addressee or returned to the sender,” said Dalphond. “I am told that letters containing drugs have no return address.”.Senators adjourned Second Reading debate on the bill. “Parliament should proceed to close this loophole as soon as possible,” said Dalphond.
