As far as I know this is not new. I have many relatives I mail to in Canada and I always have to follow those rules. I always have had to declare exactly what I send for Christmas and also it's value. Gift or present will not work sending to any country that I am aware of. Australia has the same rules. It just makes sense to me. I do not feel any reason for alarm when this has been what I have had to do for many years. Actually I think if they were not doing this in some places it is good they have to now. Maggie At 12:07 PM 2/3/2005 -0800, you wrote: >This is some info that I have come across. You are welcome to pass it on. >You may or may not have heard of mail being returned from Canada as it did >not have a return address on it. In the summer of 2004 the 190 members of >the Universal Postal Union met. At that time Canada was the first member to >say that any mail coming into Canada without a return address on it would be >returned to the country it came from. This is a result of 911 and the fear >of the content may cause a security threat. Postcards are exempt as both >sides can be seen. This enforcement is not from Canada Post but actually >from the Canada Border Services Agency [customs]. All mail coming into >Canada enters through Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto where it is examined >by Customs before the Post Offices gets it. I understand that a notice was >put up in British Post Offices about this. as well the United States Post >Office issued a warning about it. > For packages where the contents are described on the custom label as >"gift" or "present" this is not acceptable. > But Canada Post has also taken to returning mail where it cannot read the >address easily. They want the return address in the top left had corner on >the front of the item, with who it is to, with Canada in block capital >letters and the post code below. They prefer the complete address to be >printed or typed. > >I have read where this happened, with the item being returned twice until >the address was addressed in block letters. > >__________________________________________________ >| return >| address >| >| >| >| >| Name > | address >| city >| CANADA >| postal code >| >| >| >| >___________________________________________________ > >I suspect that this is just the start and that other countries will follow >suit. I do not think that anyone sending something they should not will put >their own return address on the item!` > >Kathie > > > >-- >No virus found in this outgoing message. >Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. >Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.8.5 - Release Date: 03/02/2005