The master of the post office operating out of a general store in a small community north of Fort St. James has put off her retirement in response to a recent Canada Post decision to shut the service down.
After nearly 30 years on the job in Manson Creek, Dianne Dyck's last day was supposed to be Oct. 31.
But after learning the service was going to be moved to the post office in Germansen Landing once she had left, Dyck decided to remain on the job until construction of a new general store across the road has been completed.
There are several drawbacks to moving the service to Germansen Landing, her husband Vic said in an email to The Citizen: Germansen Landing is a 24-kilometre trip further north along a gravel road (Manson Creek itself is 185 kilometres north of Fort St. James); it's open just one day a week for two hours, compared to two days a week for eight hours in Manson Creek; and the post office in Germansen Landing has been prone to break-ins because it's located down a side road and out of sight.
"I do not mean to criticize the Germansen Landing post office but am trying to illustrate the absurdity of moving and merging a busy, higher-grade post office to a closed business in a community offering less service and much less hours," Dyck said in the email.
He said his wife gave three months notice on Aug. 1 and told Canada Post a suitable replacement had been trained.
But he said Canada Post waited until Oct. 29 to say the Manson Creek post office will be closed and the service consolidated in Germansen Landing.
In reaction, his wife withdrew her retirement notice and her union, the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association, has filed a grievance.
"Hopefully exposure of the (Canada Post) plans will cause them to reconsider and facilitate a smooth transfer to the new facility," Vic Dyck said.
"Until then Dianne will continue to have to work and our retirement plans will be put off."
The service is run out of the Wolf Ridge General Store, which the couple has run since 1993. Dianne Dyck has been the post master in Manson Creek since 1986.
Canada Post spokesman Eugene Knapik said Dyck's move means the plan to move the service to Germansen Landing has been put on hold and may be scrapped altogether depending on the outcome of a new review process that would start when she gives notice once more.
He said the group mailbox at Manson Creek, which serves 10 customers, would still have been maintained with the move, although they would still have had to go to Germansen Landing to pick up oversized parcels. A further 25 seasonal customers would have had to go to Germansen Landing to pick up all their mail.
He said the review process included presenting some options to Tom Greenaway, the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako director for the area.
On Thursday Greenaway said Canada Post gave him the impression there was no other place to locate a post office.
