A Saskatoon Indigenous woman says she is considering legal action after an alleged incident of racism at the Confederation-area Real Canadian Superstore a few weeks ago.
Crystal Stone says she is not only upset with the employee who treated her in an allegedly racist way at the store.
She is also angry with Loblaws, who is the parent company of Real Canadian Superstore, for the way it has handled the situation.
Stone says she did receive what she calls an “indirect apology” over the phone from an official with the company in the days following the incident, but was left the impression there would be further follow up, which never happened.
“Superstore was supposed to phone me at two o’clock for a meeting or further discuss the situation, which they didn’t,” she says.
She adds she is left feeling the company does not take what happened seriously.
“I just feel like nothing’s being done about it and nothing’s being taken seriously at all. And that their indirect apology is sufficient enough for them and that’s the end of story, that’s how I see it. However, on my part, that’s not how I feel and it can’t be left like this.”
Stone and her sister Odera Wapass were in line at the Real Canadian Superstore two weeks ago when a cashier asked them if they had enough money to pay for their purchase.
A non-Indigenous woman who witnessed the exchange went on Facebook to confirm the incident and say no other customers in the line were asked the same question.
When contacted by MBC Radio on Tuesday, in an emailed statement Loblaws says there seems to be a misunderstanding in communication and they would be reaching out to the customer again.
However, when contacted on Thursday morning, Stone said she had not heard anything further from the company.
She says at the very least, the employee in question should be terminated and Loblaws needs to show concrete evidence the company is engaging employees in sensitivity training.
In a release sent out last week, the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations also says the Real Canadian Superstore employee should be fired.
(PHOTO: Real Canadian Superstore. Photo courtesy of www.loblaw.ca)