Tim Hortons protests expand nationwide

TORONTO • Protesters angered by some Ontario Tim Hortons franchisees who slashed workers’ benefits and breaks after the province raised its minimum wage plan to spread their rallies to other areas of the country.

About 50 demonstrations are planned in cities across the country on Friday, although at least 38 will be based in Ontario, including 18 planned in Toronto. As of Dec. 31, 2016, the number of Tim Hortons locations in Canada was 3,801.

Other cities involved in the protest include Calgary, Halifax, Saskatoon, Regina, Vancouver and two other cities in British Columbia.

Organizers behind the protest campaign, dubbed Fight for $15 and Fairness, say the demonstrations are not about the franchise owners themselves, but rather to pressure their parent company.

“If they’re feeling the crunch, they know like we do the answer has to come from corporate head office, not off the backs of employees making a minimum wage,” said spokeswoman Brittany Smith. “This is about the multi-billion dollar corporation and its parent company, Restaurant Brands International, who have the means to protect workers, but aren’t doing it.”

The protests began after Jeri Horton-Joyce and Ron Joyce Jr., the children of the brand’s billionaire co-founders, rolled out the measures at two Cobourg, Ont., locations they own.

Tim Hortons has said individual franchisees are responsible for setting employee wages and benefits. But some franchisees argue the corporation, which controls prices, should help owners grappling with the mandated wage hike by allowing them to raise prices. The franchisees want a 10 per cent price hike across the board, according to a source.