Scheduled maintenance - Thursday, July 12 at 5:00 PM EDT
We expect this update to take about an hour. Access to this website will be unavailable during this time.
In most cases, when discussing suspicious mail, it is mail that may contain a bomb, or a chemical, biological, radioactive or nuclear substance. It is good practice to screen mail you have received for unusual features.
You know what kind of mail and packages you usually get. Look for things that are out of the ordinary. Something may be suspicious if several of these features are present:
Adapted from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) article Responding to Suspicious Mail (no date) and from the Canada Post poster Suspicious Mail Alert (no date).
There is generally no need to be worried about:
If you are suspicious that a letter or package may contain a bomb, you may refuse to accept it.
If it is already on your premises:
If you are suspicious that a letter or package may contain a harmful chemical or biological substance, you may refuse to accept it.
The contents of a letter or package may cause concern if:
If you touched a letter or package that possibly contains a harmful substance or got some on your clothes:
The police, other emergency workers, and public health authorities will give you advice about what to do next.
Adapted from: Responding to Suspicious Mail (no date), Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and What to do about Suspicious Letters or Packages (2004), Public Health Agency of Canada.