During the Cross Country Checkup discussion on the future of Canada Post, veteran letter carrier Kathleen Mpulubusi joined us from Edmonton in her delivery truck. Calling postal workers a kind of "unofficial neighbourhood watch," Mpulubusi says mail carriers have strong connections to the communities they serve.

During her call, she is even stopped by a resident asking about a package.

Mpulubusi says she sees potential for Canada Post in the future and would like to provide more services, if upper management allowed it. Listen to her conversation with Checkup host Duncan McCue.

Duncan McCue: What did you want to say about Canada Post?

Kathleen Mpulubusi: I am a letter carrier and I've been one for approximately 13 years now. Letter carriers, and any of us that are the outside delivery people for Canada Post, develop really strong connections to the communities we work in everyday. We're almost like the unofficial neighbourhood watch. We know when kids are going back and forth from school. We stop and chat with people and we may be their only personal contact all day. I've also developed some very nice friendships over the years with some of my customers, seeing them everyday.

One time, on a more serious level, I was going up the street delivering mail, I heard someone screaming. I ran up and there was a very pregnant woman who had slipped on her sidewalk. I was the only person around so I ran up to her, helped her into her car, called her an ambulance and waited with her until the ambulance came.

DM: How has your job changed in 13 years of being a letter carrier?

KM: It has changed a lot. When I first started, we were completely on foot. We went out from our depots in taxi cabs, we were dropped off on our routes and we did everything on foot. Now, we've gone to being completely motorized. We've also certainly noticed a decline overall in letter mail, but a corresponding large increase in parcel volume.

DM: How are posties feeling about the future?

KM: We might be a little frustrated because we can see the potential for Canada Post. We know what's happening in other countries. We see where we could be doing so much more and we would like to offer a whole lot more services. But we seem to be at odds with the upper management of Canada Post who insist cutting and cutting and cutting, insisting that there are no other options. They are not even potentially considering some of the other options on the table.

DM: What do you think when people say 'you just can't fight the internet'?

KM: The internet is our partner. It's because of the internet and the goods that people order online that we have had such an increase in all the online business. There are lots of other opportunities in online business that could and should be looked at. I'm very proud to work for Canada Post and I feel that we do deliver a very good service and I would like to continue doing it.