[Christien]

All items entering the country have to clear customs, which the shipping companies refer to as brokering. I guess they're acting as a broker at the customs house. They all charge a different amount, most just a small service charge for the time they pay the guy to fill out a form and wait in line. Canada Post charges $8 (last time I checked), Fedex I think charges $25, but UPS has been known for years to be really greedy and charge $80. Might even be higher now. It has nothing to do with tax, it's just a service charge for filling out forms and paying duty and taxes for you at the border.