Is Canada Customs The Grinch?

At this time of year many Canadians shop online for Christmas gifts. When you purchase things online, those things-books, dvds, clothing or whatever must be shipped via some kind of courier. Most times, at least in my experience they get shipped via Canada Post. Whether or not they are shipped via Canada Post if they come from outside Canada they must go through Customs.

Canada Customs of course must examine each parcel and make sure it's safe. All those people in other countries trying to ship things over and harm us. I'm sure glad no one in Canada would harm another Canadian. Of course I'm being sarcastic. Someone that lives in Canada could just as well harm me as someone living elsewhere. Parcels going from one part of Canada to another part of Canada don't get examined, nor should they, by anyone besides the sender, receiver and to a certain extend the one doing the shipping. Yet if I buy a parcel from the US, Canada Customs can go through my mail and examine it. They might not necessarily open it but I don't care. I don't believe they should be able to monitor a peaceful Canadian's mail at all. That's one complaint I have.

A second complaint I have is related to taxes. Customs will charge tax on all items over $20.00. When I say tax I mean sales tax. For me, in NB, that means 13%. So Customs checks everything over and if it's $20.01 apparently sales tax applies. Now, I'm not saying that they will get all technical on us and start to charge tax right at $20.01. I'm sure they are extra busy in December and are reasonable. But maybe they aren't, I really don't know. I do know they don't have to be reasonable. Now to be honest I don't get too upset by having to pay sales tax on an item coming from the US since I have to pay it in Canada if I buy something here. It's the next part that really angers me.

Customs will charge you a $9.95 handling fee if your parcel has sales tax added to it. So you buy a 20 dollar gift and it costs you 20 bucks and everyone's happy. Perhaps you buy a 21 dollar gift. That's $2.73 in tax that Customs can add to your parcel plus the $9.95 for the handling fee(they probably add sales tax to this amount too). Suddenly your $21 purchase just became a $33.68 purchase. If that doesn't discourage business then nothing will. The government pockets $12.68 in that deal and you get ripped off.

I wonder who the Grinch really is?