Canada Post reveals it is the reason for lengthy parcel delays

Online shoppers discouraged by delivery delays Some online shoppers are waiting a long time for their packages to arrive from overseas because of backlogs at the border. Lea Williams-Doherty explains…

If you’ve ever ordered a product from Chinese sellers, you know that the time it takes to get delivered can take a very long time, but reports say the problem is with Canada Post, not with the shipper.

Desmond Hung frequently orders products from China and lately he’s noticed that packages have taken three months to be delivered to his front door.

Information from third party sites show that his parcels take about a week to get to the country, but end up sitting at Canada Post’s processing centre in Vancouver for a long time.

“I would like to know what is Canada Post doing? What are they doing?,” Hung said. “Maybe customs is not pulling its weight as well.”

When CTV Calgary first asked about the issue, Canada Post said that time sensitive parcels are given priority while others are worked through on a daily basis.

Vancouver’s postal workers union says that there has been a backlog, blaming the Canada Border Services Agency for taking so long to inspect packages from Asia.

The CBSA says that it doesn’t have any records on delays, but if they do occur in Vancouver, they’re likely due to a boom in the e-commerce industry and a spike in the need for inspections.

Canada Post has since admitted to a delay in processing because of the glut of packages being mailed from Asia, often too small and hard to read for machines.

Jon Hamilton, a spokesperson for the agency, says parcels mailed from China are a low priority since the country doesn’t pay anything in shipping costs because of international postal treaties.

“We certainly don’t make money on these items, but we are members of the UPU and support the access it gives Canadians,” Hamilton said.

If you want your packages sooner, you can pay extra for shipping.

For those left waiting too long, websites like Amazon and Ebay have policies in place for customers to claim refunds on items they never received.

The CBSA said it is working with Canada Post to address delays and it is developing an electronic information network to speed up risk assessment and clear low-risk parcels faster.

(With files from Lea Williams-Doherty)