Canada Post letter carrier Debbie Gibson puts mail in a new Canada Post super box in Calgary, Alberta, October 20, 2014. Residents of London, Ont., upset with the end of door-to-door delivery, have started planting small flower beds on the concrete pads that will eventually house the mailboxes.Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
Canada's police chiefs want legal authority to seize mail in transit to stem the flow of illicit drugs, fake medicine and weapons through the postal system.
In a recently passed resolution, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police say contraband is being sent through the mail "with impunity" because the law forbids officers from swooping in until a parcel arrives at its destination.
The resolution calls on the government to amend the legislation governing Canada Post to give police the ability to obtain a judge's approval to "seize, detain or retain parcels or letters" in the mail stream.
A November 2012 report the R-C-M-P prepared for the chiefs' organized crime committee revealed that firearms, grenades, a rocket launcher, stun guns, dangerous chemicals and drugs including cocaine, heroin and marijuana were sent through the mail.
The report noted counterfeit items -- from fake Olympic hockey sweaters to bogus passports -- were also being shipped into Canada via the post office.