INSIDE

Neither rain, nor snow, nor
border shall stop, oops, think again

By Meg Olson

Point Roberts could be getting its mail a day late if the United States Postal Service (USPS) can’t strike a deal with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

On April 4, after at least 14 years of the mail truck using the passenger lanes at Pacific Highway to bring the mail from Blaine, local postmaster Mike Lange said they were told they needed to use commercial lanes. “Ever since I know of the U.S. mail did not have to go through commercial truck lanes,” Lange said. “Now we do.”

Driver Larry Musselwhite picks up Point Roberts mail at 6:30 a.m. and leaves Blaine about 15 minutes later, Lange said. “He should be here by 7:15 or 7:20, that’s ideal, but most times it’s 7:30.” The mail is unloaded, sorted to routes and mailboxes, and carriers are on their delivery routes between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. “All the people on the Point should get their mail by 2 p.m. at the latest,” Lange said.

Since April 4 Musselwhite has to wait in line with commercial traffic, and is often referred for secondary inspection because individual items of mail are not counted and listed on a manifest. “He’s been up to an hour and forty minutes late and it’s always at least half an hour,” Lange said. “You’re going to get your mail late and if they turn him back because of the manifest you won’t get it at all.”

The mail has never needed a manifest in the past, Lange said, and with mail coming packed in metal crates from three different sorting plants, creating one would be a substantial task. “It would take two or three hours in Blaine and basically it would delay the mail by a whole day,” he said.

Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson Paula Shore did not respond directly when asked why the change in policy had occurred. “All items and individuals entering Canada are subject to inspection by a border services officer to determine their admissibility,” she responded by email, paraphrasing the “Information for Visitors and Seasonal Residents” section of the CBSA website.

Lange said USPS was working to find a solution that gets the mail here on time. “My managers have talked to regional managers who have talked to Washington, D.C.,” he said. “It seems this isn’t a decision that can be made locally, it needs to be made in Ottawa.”