Border parcel business thrives during pandemic

Border parcel business thrives during pandemic

DUNDEE, Canada: The Canada-US border has been closed since the start of the pandemic more than a year ago, but not for Paul-Maurice Patenaude who operates a parcel handoff service from his house, which straddles the international boundary. "I am both in Quebec and in the State of New York, look how beautiful it is!“ laughs the 82-year-old pensioner, one foot on either side of a black line marking the border through the ground floor of his 200-year-old stone and wood building.

Dozens of packages of all sizes left in his "drop-off“ box have been sorted and stored on shelves to await pickup. The imposing three-storey former bar and grocery store has two addresses, and two entrances. One is on the south side, in New York State, where are parcels delivered by Fedex or UPS; the other on the north side, in Dundee, a tiny Quebec town of 420 residents, where Canadian customers come to collect their goods.

"Placed like this, between two customs offices, I'm pretty sure it's unique,“ says Patenaude, leaning on his walker as he gives an AFP reporter a tour. Thanks to an 1842 treaty, his house is one of few in Canada and the United States to