IQALUIT, NUNAVUT—A Manitoulin Island woman has had the experience of a lifetime as a superintendent for the Canada Post Corporation, which, under her guidance, now has two post offices in Iqaluit, Nunavut—one of the busiest Canada Post outlets in all of Canada.
“There is no comparison, nothing can compare to it,” said Natalie Hartley, who has been spending the past few months working for the Canada Post Corporation and working in Iqaluit. “This place has a piece of my heart. It has that home feeling to it for me. I feel very connected to the people and the land.”
“I can confirm this is the busiest post office I’ve ever seen,” stated Ms. Hartley. She began her career with the Canada Post Corporation in 2011, having started in the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory Post Office on a part-time basis four hours a week for four years. “Then I became the full-time postmaster in Manitowaning in 2015-2016, and after that I had the opportunity to transfer back to Wiky. In the meantime, I was offered a field support roll, ordering equipment and helping to staff offices.”
From there Ms. Hartley took on quite a few local acting superintendent positions in Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie.
A career in the Canada Post Corporation was not always an expected one, said Ms. Hartley. “I was 22 when I started working for Canada Post but on this first opportunity, I almost didn’t take the job. I had received a call from the CP human resources department on a Friday, and I said no I wouldn’t be taking the job. But by Monday I called them back and said if the job is still available, I would take it.”
“It is absolutely a great company to work for. I have a great, supportive team and bosses, peers and upper management who have mentored me along way who gave me the ability to progress,” said Ms. Hartley.
“And now I am in Iqaluit, while my family is still living at home in Manitowaning,” said Ms. Hartley. “My partner lives with me in Manitowaning along with my two stepsons Hunter and Taylor and stepdaughter Danika and our two roommates. They have all been living in Manitowaning while I am on this temporary position here.” She pointed out that mom Christianna Jones and stepdad Peter Baumgarten live in Manitowaning, as do her father- and mother-in-law, Mike and Joyce Sprack.
She had been approached last August by her manager at Canada Post if she would be interested in becoming the superintendent for the Iqaluit area. “I said at the time I would like to but in September I had to have a hip replacement so I didn’t think I could.”
“Then when I got back from my leave after Christmas, and I noticed they were looking for someone for the superintendent position again. I reached out to my manager and told them I was interested.”
“One of the reasons I was interested is because Iqaluit is a remote community, I could (again) work in an Indigenous community and am very interested in the culture. Being Indigenous, I wanted to come to a level of understanding about living and working in an Indigenous community,” continued Ms. Hartley.
“I go back home (Manitowaning) once every six weeks,” said Ms. Hartley. “It has been an amazing experience,” stated Ms. Hartley. “Going in, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It is like a small city, the Toronto of Nunavut,” she quipped. “It is very diverse and there are lots of things to do. My brother asked me ‘is there anything to do up there and if there is even a movie hall.’ It is down the hall. There is always something going on. There is actually more going on here than on Manitoulin Island.”
Ms. Hartley pointed out the population is about 3,000. “You see the same people daily, but everyone is so friendly, everyone says hi to each other. It is like living in a small town with all the amenities of a big city.”
“Oh yes, the post office here is pretty busy, in fact we have two—one that was recently opened,” said Ms. Hartley. “It’s the largest I have ever seen and worked at. There are no roads up here that you can use to drive from or to another town. Everything is flown in and there are cargo ships that come here in the summertime, so many things like building supplies, bottled water and food are shipped in.”
As for how busy the post offices are Ms. Hartley stated, “I honestly have no idea how many pieces of mail we handle every day. It is just incredible. It is quite a big operation. We have a good number of staff here. They all do amazing work. That is what has been the most incredible part of this journey, the staff here and the people in the community are incredible.”
She works between the two offices. “The new office opened in November,” said Ms. Hartley. “It is a beautiful building, and it stands out because it is a green building. It is a great facility to work in.”
“I have been fortunate to work here, and it is something that I really wanted to experience and see a part of the country that not a lot of people have seen. It has been a blessing for me,” said Ms. Hartley last week from Rankin Inlet, part of a visit she had made to CP offices in Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk.
“Canada Post provides lots of opportunities and things a person can experience,” continued Ms. Hartley.
“My contract here runs to the end of July, and I will have to decide what I am going to do next. I don’t know if it will be with a post office. But I do kind of want to go home. I do miss my family,” added Ms. Hartley.
