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It's hammer time: Nathan Cullen

Newly re-elected MP Nathan Cullen says he's ready to "hammer a few folks on the forehead" at Canada Post until they change their decision to downgrade mail service on Haida Gwaii."We're going to have to reverse this situation," Mr. Cullen said Friday morning just before getting on the train in Vancouver for the trip to Ottawa, where he is headed following his Oct. 14 election victory.The MP said he already has meetings set up with Canada Post officials to discuss the situation. The decision to carry all mail on and off the Charlottes by ferry instead of plane was made at head office in Ottawa and not at the regional office in Vancouver, he said.The slowed-down service has been in place since Sept. 15. Since then, islanders have been receiving mail from the mainland only twice a week.Mr. Cullen said islanders should keep in mind that Canada Post is a crown corporation which makes a tremendous amount of money. We looked that up, and he's right: in 2007, the postal corporation made a $54-million profit, more than $1 million a week.Mr. Cullen said Canada Post was not designed to be raking in the dollars and that this for-profit mindset is what's led to decisions like dropping air service to and from the islands.