Pubdate: Mon, 31 Aug 2015
Source: Chronicle-Journal, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 The Chronicle-Journal
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/5fH8Gfxc
Website: http://www.chroniclejournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3155
Author: Jim Bronskill
Page: A6

POLICE CHIEFS WANT POWER TO SEIZE MAIL

OTTAWA - 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.

This poses a "significant challenge" for police, who must find 
"alternative ways to work within or around" the system to apprehend 
criminals, the chiefs say.

The resolution calls on the government to amend the legislation 
governing Canada Post to provide police with the ability to obtain a 
judge's approval to "seize, detain or retain parcels or letters" in 
the mail stream.

Canada Post delivered more than nine billion parcels and letters to 
some 15 million addresses in Canada last year. International mail 
flows through large plants in the Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal areas.

A November 2012 report the RCMP 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.

"These items represent a significant threat to postal workers and 
Canadians," say the chiefs, who passed the resolution this month at 
their annual conference in Quebec City.

"It is imperative that Canada Post and the law enforcement community 
develop ways to effectively work together to stop the transmittal of 
contraband through the postal system."

Cara Zwibel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said she does 
not have serious qualms about such a legislative change as long as 
judicial approval is built into the process.

"I do think it's a really important safeguard," said Zwibel, director 
of the association's fundamental freedoms program.

However, she does have questions about the possible criminal 
consequences for the intended recipient of an intercepted package 
containing illicit goods - someone "who hasn't yet received it and 
who actually may not know that it's coming, or may not have asked for it."

The 2012 report noted counterfeit items - from fake Olympic hockey 
sweaters to bogus passports - were also being shipped into Canada via 
the post office.

It called for greater collaboration between police and postal 
officials to detect suspect parcels.

However, in a background document accompanying the new resolution, 
the chiefs say recent court rulings have declared that postal 
inspectors cannot act as agents of the state when tipped by police to 
contraband making its way through the post.

The chiefs plan to write a letter to the federal public safety 
minister urging changes to the law, hopefully to be followed up with a meeting.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom