Opening of Campobello mail at border crossing raises concerns

Some Campobello Island residents are concerned that in recent weeks their mail, which is sent from the Canadian mainland by Canada Post by a bonded carrier to reach the island, is being opened and searched when it crosses the U.S. border at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) station in Calais. CBP officers can open packages and letters, which may contain private information such as credit card numbers or medical records, and can also confiscate any products that are illegal under U.S. federal laws, including cannabis, which is now legal in Canada.
Justin Tinker, a member of the Campobello Year-Round Ferry Development Committee, states, "Many islanders receiving packages have noted that while historically CBP rummaging through Canada Post deliveries was almost unheard of, it has become common for CBP to inspect their packages" during the past month. Although he hasn't heard of any items being confiscated, he says islanders are aware of the risks involved with placing mail orders for questionable goods, such as fruits and vegetables or cannabis, and tend not to take the risk.
Dale Calder, a retired superintendent for Canada Border Services Agency who lives on Campobello, says he has received two packages that were opened by CBP officers. "It's not at all a good feeling to have a foreign government decide whether I have a right to what's in my packages," he states. "How would people in Maine feel if Canada Customs officers opened their mail and decided whether they'd let them have it?" He feels the opening of the mail is an invasion of his privacy and questions whether CBP has that right. "It's none of their business. Why are they reading someone's mail?"
Tinker believes that CBP officers do have the right to open and confiscate any mail that is coming into the U.S. as they see fit, under U.S. legislation that has been on the books for some time. However, only recently have officers at the Calais border crossing been opening mail that is shipped by Canada Post to the post offices on Campobello on a truck operated by an independent contractor.
Tinker says he has heard of other residents, along with Calder, who are not pleased with what they feel is an invasion of personal privacy. "It's the only mail delivery in Canada that is routinely opened by law officers of a foreign country." While he says that the officers in Calais are just doing their job, he comments, "If we're Canadian, then we need to be afforded equal rights and the privacy anyone else's mail in Canada would be afforded."
Along with packages, a few letters reportedly have been opened, and they could include social insurance or credit card numbers, along with medical or other private information. Tinker says the Canadian and New Brunswick governments are aware of the situation, noting that during the Campobello by-election in May the provincial government chartered a boat to carry the ballots of Campobello residents so they would not be subject to possible confiscation at the border. He expects the same arrangement will be made for the next federal census.
Another issue that is raised by the opening of mail packages at the border crossing concerns the shipment of cannabis, since it is now legal in Canada but not under U.S. federal laws. According to Tinker, Cannabis NB has ceased shipments to Campobello, which he says, to the best of his knowledge, is "the only place in Canada where one is unable to receive the now-legal substance."
He says the Canadian postal system "relies on the goodwill of a foreign country, and it's a failure of the system that we end up relying on that goodwill." Campobello residents thus become subject to U.S. laws while they are still in Canada. Although he does not use cannabis, he says that the fact that it is not being allowed by the U.S. government to be sent to Campobello "should be alarming to anyone concerned with personal privacy and individual rights. You can consume it anywhere else in Canada but not on Campobello."
Michael McCarthy, public affairs officer for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, says that CBP "facilitates lawful trade and travel while also safeguarding the American people from dangerous goods and people." In a statement, he says that CBP officers "possess broad search authority to ensure the safety and admissibility of all goods entering the United States. This includes the ability to inspect and search all persons, baggage and merchandise arriving in -- or transiting through -- the United States."
A statement released by Canada Post says, "In order to provide timely and consistent service to the community, mail and parcels travel via truck onto the island. Due to its location, the truck must pass through the U.S. border en route and therefore U.S. Customs and Border Protection. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has a right to stop and search any truck at their discretion and detain or seize any item which is inadmissible."

Year-round ferry question
Tinker says that the searching of mail being sent to Campobello residents at the border crossing "is certainly another of many reasons that the island needs reliable year‑round access to mainland Canada." Calder agrees with that assessment.
Since 1996 the island has lost a third of its population, which has dropped from 1,200 to 800, according to the 2015 census, Tinker points out. He expects that decline will continue unless changes are made.
Campobello Mayor Brett Newman could not be reached for comment on the issue. A report issued last November and prepared by Vaughn McIntyre Consulting recommended a year-round ferry service, and a second phase of the report recommending a specific route was issued in January. The Campobello council has not since taken action on the matter, although it had authorized a letter stating it would seek aid from the province to secure an expanded seasonal service. The council had decided that a seasonal service, expanded to six months, could be attainable.
The current private ferry service operates from the end of June to the end of September. While concerns have been raised about whether a year-round ferry provided by the private service could be sustainable, Tinker notes that other ferries in the province have to be publicly subsidized.
He says, "We will continue to work with the council and hope they realize the need for year-round ferry access." He adds, "Our hope is that the council steps up and joins other municipalities that have asked for a year-round ferry."