Field notes from the Canadian border.
Practical playbooks and case studies from our brokers. No thought-leadership fluff — just the stuff we wish every importer knew before they called us in a panic.
EDI and eManifest Portal Delays: What Brokers Are Actually Filing Right Now
CBSA's multi-week EDI and eManifest message backlog continues into May 2026, with the Systems Outage Contingency Plan still active. Paper entries remain accepted, inbound message delays persist, and downstream clearance timing is unpredictable. Here's what we're doing on the filing side and what importers need to track.
Read article →eManifest Portal Maintenance and the Contingency Math You Already Ignore
CBSA scheduled an eManifest portal window in early May. Most brokers will shrug and file ACI by EDI. But if your operation still relies on portal ACE lookups or manual portal filing, that hour matters more than you think.
Read article →IID Processing Delays: What Actually Stops Moving and What Doesn't
CBSA's Integrated Import Declaration delay notice affects CFIA-regulated food, plant, and animal products. The broker side still moves. The NISC side doesn't. Here's where the jam sits and what to file now.
Read article →Ocean rate increases through 2026: what Canadian importers need to price now
U.S. brokers are warning shippers that double-digit rate increases will hold through 2026. For Canadian importers, that means repricing landed cost, revisiting RPP bond sizing, and auditing CUSMA certificates before the next duty cycle starts.
Read article →Trans-Pacific Rate Spikes and Your Canadian CAD Filing Timeline
Shanghai-LA spot rates climbed 34% in recent weeks while carriers blank sailings to protect margins. For Canadian importers routing ocean freight via West Coast ports, that congestion and schedule volatility directly affect PARS pre-clearance windows, RPP bond sufficiency, and CAD filing deadlines under CARM.
Read article →Canada-Mercosur FTA timeline: what Brazilian soy, Argentine wine, and Paraguayan textiles mean for your tariff and origin programs
Brazil's lead negotiator says the Canada-Mercosur FTA could close by year-end. If you're importing beef, soybeans, textiles, or steel from South America today, here's what changes when the agreement drops and what doesn't.
Read article →CBSA Convicts Regina Resident for Immigration Document Fraud — What Import Compliance Teams Should Know
A Saskatchewan resident was fined $75,000 and sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to submitting 31 falsified immigration applications. For importers, the same enforcement tools CBSA used here — document scrutiny, digital forensics, and inter-agency coordination — are in daily play on the commercial side.
Read article →CBSA duty refunds under CARM: what the CBP portal tells us about CAD corrections
CBP's tariff refund portal moved faster than expected. CBSA's CARM correction workflow is heading in the opposite direction. Here's what Canadian importers need to know about duty adjustments, CAD amendments, and the timeline you should actually plan for in 2025.
Read article →CBSA EDI and eManifest Delay: What 1–3 Hour Outbound Lag Means for Your Release Window
CBSA's ongoing EDI and eManifest outbound message delay stretches acknowledgements, reject notices, and RNS by one to three hours. Here's what that means for PARS release timing, cargo control numbers, and Friday-afternoon CAD filing strategy.
Read article →CBSA Update 24: EDI and eManifest Delays, SOCP Still Live, and What It Means for Monday Morning Release
CBSA's portal delays persist three weeks in. The Systems Outage Contingency Plan is still active, paper entries are still accepted, and inbound EDI is processing — but outbound messages lag. Here's what that means for PARS release, CAD filing timing, and Monday morning cargo control.
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