A west-Ottawa community has found themselves in a bilingualism battle over mail service.
Residents in Fitzroy Harbour are upset that a store owner is being forced out of one of her most important duties -- dealing with the mail.
Kai Zhang bought a store with a postal outlet in Fitzroy Harbour about a year ago.
Since then, she has worked in the store herself, acting as post mistress. She said she wasn't paid for all those months, and she's received little support from Canada Post.
"After listening to her story and if she feels that we haven't been fair to her in any way, then I apologize for that," said Jon Hamilton of Canada Post.
Zhang says the postal office was a big draw when she purchased the store, but the postal agency maintains bilingualism is a requirement and Zhang must apply for the job, like everyone else.
Zhang says without offering postal service, her business will suffer.
Residents stand behind store owner
Hundreds of residents came out to support Zhang at a community meeting with Canada Post in Fitzroy Harbour Thursday night.
Most say it's absurd to take away something store owners have always done. When one man challenged a Canada Post representative to speak in French, the Canada Post employee did not comply.
Some accused the agency of trying to move their post office to a nearby community. Others wondered if Canada Post was trying to keep Zhang quiet by offering her overdue rent, just a day before the meeting.
"We had a situation where we thought rent was being paid and it would be the same rent that would be paid to anyone who runs a post master facility. Unfortunately, that wasn't happening," said Hamilton.
Meantime, Zhang is working on her French, even though she doesn't believe bilingualism is a big issue in the predominantly English-speaking west-Ottawa community.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Stefan Keyes
