I've heard good things about certiflat, that will make a nice table top. The price of steel these days probably made that an easier decision.
It is your customs service, apparently they hire polar bears to do package inspections. My dad has bought models, electric trains and other delicate items from Canada and has received packages that were clearly well packed, but opened for inspection and just carelessly tossed back into the box. They leave a note letting you know Canada customs has opened the package, so he knows it is not something that happened after reaching USPS or UPS / Fedex. When he contacts the sender they are never surprised. This apparently also occurs on the Canada side as well, which is probably where US sellers decline to ship to Canada. Too many damage claims.
This is a highly discussed issue with Canadian members of several model sites I belong to. There is a saying among them about Canada post having relations with dead bears.