Protests planned at Tim Hortons in Lower Mainland

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 Canada Friday, although at least 38 will be based in Ontario, including 18 set for 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, Surrey and Maple Ridge.

Organizers behind the protest campaign, dubbed Fight for $15 and Fairness, say the demonstrations planned at specific Tim Hortons franchises Friday are not about the franchise owners, 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.”

Smith could not describe how specific franchises across the country were selected for the protests but said they were chosen by local members of the Fight for $15 and Fairness, which she said number 500,000.

Friday’s planned national protests follow similar demonstrations earlier this month at 16 Tim Hortons restaurants in Ontario, organized in response to a few franchises that clawed back workers benefits, paid breaks and other perks as a result of the minimum wage increase in Ontario from an $11.60 hourly rate to $14 at the start of the month.