It's funny about Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CRA), sometimes they're quick, sometimes they're not. Generally speaking though, I find stuff that is shipped to me (in Ottawa) gets here much faster if sent via USPS. It's also a lot less expensive, since there are no outrageous brokerage fees attached to the items. It's the stuff that comes via UPS, Fedex, etc, that takes forever.
For me, the solution is to get items shipped to the UPS store in Ogdensburg, NY, pick it up myself and bring it through Customs at the border...
SteveH