Canada Post facility in Winnipeg evacuated after suspicious package found

Package was addressed to CFB Shilo, according to postal workers union

Image | Winnipeg police bomb squad at Canada Post facility

Caption: The Winnipeg Police Service's bomb squad was called to this Canada Post mail sorting facility on Wellington Avenue on Tuesday evening, July 14, 2015. (Jillian Taylor/CBC)

A Canada Post facility near the Winnipeg airport was evacuated on Tuesday evening after a suspicious package bound for a Manitoba military base was found, according to the union representing postal employees.
Emergency crews were called to the mail sorting facility on Wellington Avenue around 6:15 p.m. after an employee discovered a parcel, with no return address on it, that was bound for CFB Shilo.
The package was addressed to someone who does not exist at the military base, said officials with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
"It fit a lot of protocols for unsafe packages. It was taped all in black tape, it had a lot of postage stamps on it, there was no return address," said Dave Lambert, the health and safety representative with CUPW Winnipeg Local 856.
"I believe the corporation made an attempt to call the addressee, which was located on an army base. Someone reported back that there was no one there by that name, so that arose suspicion."
Lambert said employees were initially ushered out onto a parking lot that was fenced in. They were later allowed to access amenities across the street, he added.
No injuries were reported. Military police were contacted and the package was taken away by police, according to the union.