Proposed power to search, seize mail not being extended to postal workers: minister

Gary Anandasangaree, minister of Public Safety, speaks at an announcement on funding for security at the FIFA World Cup at Toronto Stadium in Toronto on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey

OTTAWA — The federal government’s new proposal to allow authorities to search and seize mail would be limited only to police officers, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said.

The proposal was included in the spring economic update which was tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday. It mimics but is not identical to the plan first proposed in bill C-2 last year.

In an interview with The Canadian Press on Wednesday, Anandasangaree said that bill was carved up into smaller bills, and the search and seizure measure was not part of those.

“So the postal matter still remained orphaned and we are quite resolved to move that forward,” Anandasangaree said.

Anandasangaree said while the original bill would have given the power to search and seize mail to government officials, including Canada Post staff, the new version limits the power to police and still requires a warrant.

The minister said the measure is meant to close a legal “loophole” that prevents any package weighing less than 500 grams from being opened and searched.

Anandasangaree said that gap is being exploited by traffickers sending small quantities of drugs, such as fentanyl, through the mail — especially in remote areas.

“So when we look at Nunavut as an example, there’s 25 plus fly-in communities. There’s really no road access. So … smaller quantities of drugs can go through the post office without any scrutiny,” he said.

The proposed mail search power is tucked away near the back of the spring economic statement, with no clear explanation of how it relates to the fiscal document.

Opposition MPs said they don’t understand why it was included.

“I don’t see so much what relates to that in the exercise of the budget. There are questions which are quite different. It’s in another bill,” Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Tuesday.

NDP Leader Avi Lewis said that while it’s “legitimate to introduce non-monetary measures,” it’s “a major legislative moment to bury a significant new power in almost the penultimate page of the document itself.

“It seems like more light should be shone on a measure like that.”

Anandasangaree said the mail search proposal fits with the broader themes of the spring economic statement putting more resources into community safety.

Bill C-2 has been stalled at second reading in the House of Commons and was last debated on Sept. 17, 2025.

Modifications to Canada’s asylum process originally introduced in Bill C-2 became law earlier this year as part of a separate bill, and new legislation to expand police access to online data and information was introduced in March.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2026.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press