> which can only be done in person if you aren’t a broker
And IIRC there are something less than a couple dozen in-person locations nationwide where you can do so. Many people live hundreds of KMs from the nearest office. It’s infuriating - all you’re doing is filing some paperwork and giving a credit card payment. There’s no reason it couldn’t be done online.
> there are something less than a couple dozen in-person locations nationwide
About ⅔ of Canadians live within 2hrs drive of a Canadian Border Services office. This drops to about 56% of all Canadians if you limit it to a one-hour drive.
And there are a recorded 1,200 such manned offices across Canada. Not all of them handle self-clearing, mind you, as some are special-purpose offices that are not accessible to the public at large. But the vast majority do.
These CBS offices can be found at any border crossing, international airport, and harbour that has regularly-scheduled dockings of international ships, even cargo ships. There are 117 land border offices, 43 airport offices, and 393 marine offices in Canada alone.
A four or even two hour round trip does not seem like a reasonable ask, especially given that this is a form that could easily be completed online. I don't have to drive hours to file my taxes.
> And there are a recorded 1,200 such manned offices across Canada. Not all of them handle self-clearing, mind you...
I was under the impression that self clearing specifically required an inland office, of which there are 50 across the country. I'm not alone in this - google "how to self clear goods Canada" and you'll get all sorts of advice saying you need very specific types of CBSA offices. I would also highlight that none of this is made particularly clear on the CBSA website - there's no page on "how to clear your goods" that I was able to find.
And IIRC there are something less than a couple dozen in-person locations nationwide where you can do so. Many people live hundreds of KMs from the nearest office. It’s infuriating - all you’re doing is filing some paperwork and giving a credit card payment. There’s no reason it couldn’t be done online.