Small Canadian island irate that Americans keep opening their mail

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The population of a tiny Canadian island off the coast of Maine is demanding their government start a year-round ferry service or build a new bridge to the mainland to keep American customs officials from opening what they say is nearly every piece of mail they’ve been getting for over a year.

Campobello Island sits in the Bay of Fundy off the coast of the province of New Brunswick, but the only way to easily access the island outside of summer months is via Maine. This means mail headed to the island residents from other parts of Canada must leave the country and drive for nearly an hour – in a sealed truck – through the state before it returns to its final destination back in Canada.

This was rarely too much of an issue for the island’s nearly 800 residents — many of them cross the border each and every day to go to work in mainland New Brunswick, or even in Maine itself. Former U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt even used to vacation on the island.

Everything changed, though, once Canada’s government legalized recreational cannabis just over a year ago.

Since then, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have stopped nearly every truck carrying mail bound for Campobello Island as it crosses the border into Maine, and opened most packages and many letters headed for the island’s residents.

The officers are searching for marijuana ordered from the province’s government-run online store, since the product is illegal in Maine.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/small-canadian-island-irate-that-americans-keep-opening-their-mail/ar-BBWKAcs?li=BBnb7Kz

[underpants]

1. Nooothing better to do

Couldn’t they, at worst, just open the truck and see if there is any package big enough to be worth considering a risk?

[ret5hd]

2. If your objective is to mitigate risk, yes.

BUT, if your objective is to cause resentment etc, it is exactly what they would do.

It seems to me that one of the main objectives of drumputin is to isolate/stigmatize the u.s. in every part of the world. I would say they are, at this time anyway, succeeding.

[Thomas Hurt]

3. Petty fascism must be Trump's doing.

[stopdiggin]

4. outside of customs

is anybody "handling" this mail within the state? -- i.e., is there a potential for "packages" to be dropped off in places other than Canada? Otherwise, I can't see the point -- other than as a FU gesture to Canadian citizens.

[Hortensis]

5. Canada could deliver mail, even in winter, directly to its citizens

on this island without diverting through the U.S. The unfortunate islanders are being victimized by their own nation before the laws on our books require opening their mail.

Let's keep that in mind, also hope that their angry noise is heard in their own provincial and national governments. Not just on DU.

After all, has Canada been reimbursing the additional expenses to the U.S.? No matter what we think of this situation, they must be considerable and we're paying, not Canada's taxpayers.

[BuffaloJackalope]

6. Or Canada could set up a Foreign Ministry office on the island

and send everything under diplomatic seal.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

7. U.S. could keep its mitts off Canada's mail, too

[Hortensis]

8. Laws and procedures take time to change. In both U.S. and Canada.

This problem was triggered by changes by Canada's government, which hasn't yet taken care of quite all the consequences that need to be tended to.

I suspect, if following the law, or breaking it out of your personal respect for the island residents' right to privacy, meant being fired and losing the 17 years you had vested toward your pension, perhaps even prosecuted, the islanders would just have to be pissed off until their government fixed this.

Reasonableness and good sense in general are not out of order at any time, not even when a planetary miasma of anxiety encourages reaction instead of rational thought.