RE: Shipping irises to Canada

["Terry Aitken" <terry@flowerfantasy.net>]

Brad, you are looking for "ghosts in closets" when even the closet does not
exist.
Ted Baker was down in Portland this past weekend from Victoria, Canada. (We
had 6 house guests and it was a really good party!)He picked up several
orders at our place from other growers besides ours. All orders had the
required phyto. Certificates attached. He returned to Canada on Sunday,
loaded with hundreds of irises. Some of the Canadian customers had their
plants in the ground Sunday night. We have been doing this for 3 years.
The arrangement for convention guests is for Ted to pick up convention guest
iris plants, with their phyto. Certs., in Seattle (which will save 300 miles
on the round trip for Ted, not coming down to Portland) He can take a ferry
directly from Victoria to Seattle and back. Patrick Spense is President of
the King County Iris Society (Seattle) and will collect the plants for Ted
during the specified week. Ted will then hand carry the certified plants
thru the border. All cars are inspected at the ferry docks - engine
compartments, trunks, packages and undercarriage as well as passengers.
The virtue of this arrangement is to avoid delays at the border of up to 2
weeks on delivery. This has happened to us and our customers up in Canada. I
might observe that deliveries, this year, have been much better than in past
years. There is absolutely nothing illegal about this arrangement.
	Shipping to Canada is easier than shipping to Europe = where three
annual field inspections are required by our Agricultural inspector before
he can certify European shipments (we do this). There are very few bugs that
Canada is actually concerned about. You might need a soil test for a certain
type of root knot nematode. (We do this regularly anyway and we don't have
that critter.) Generally, 'dirt free' with no signs of bugs or diseases will
work. Brad, I don't know about your inspector? Perhaps you have irritated
him/her to the point that he/she won't deal with you? If I were your
inspector---!!! Ha! And AHA! This problem is absolutely not an AIS problem.
It is strictly between you and your State Ag. Dept.
If you had been listening at the board meeting instead of talking, perhaps
you would have realized that the option for 2011 was either a Convention in
Victoria or no convention at all. You consider the options.
Actually, Ted and I had been discussing the possibility of a Victoria
Convention ever since the Portland Convention so it did not just come out of
the woodwork. Region 13 and our affiliate clubs are supporting this endeavor
with great enthusiasm.
Terry Aitken, RVP 13 and convention conniver and shipper to Canader.





-----Original Message-----
From: owner-aisdiscuss@aisboard.org [mailto:owner-aisdiscuss@aisboard.org]
On Behalf Of Margaret Sutton
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 4:52 PM
To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
Subject: [AISdiscuss] Shipping irises to Canada

Hi all, particularly Brad:

We have shipped to Canada, as I am sure other commercial growers have as
well.
Barbara is correct: you get the phyto which has the Canadian address,
required
certifications, etc., on it.  This includes having the irises inspected,
etc,
just like any other foreign country.  It is shipped to a border state in
this
country to a person who then carries the irises accross the border to the
Canadian address.  I am pretty sure Canada looks at the irises and the
documentation when they cross the border, although I have never actually
seen
the process.  I know from experience Canada is one of the stricter and more
difficult countries to ship into, so I can't imagine they would overlook a
parcel coming in in someone's car!  I don't think it's a case of concealing
a
package in one's underwear, as one of my European friends remarked!

I don't really think it is smuggling, Brad.  Documentation is done, the
state
certifies the irises, etc.  It's just cheaper to ship to Washington than to
Canada.

Margaret

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