Tim Horton’s

Wednesday December 8, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday December 8, 2021

Justin Bieber performs in Saudi Arabia despite calls for boycott over human rights

August 10, 2018

Canadian pop star Justin Bieber performed to a packed crowd in the Red Sea city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, singing some of his most popular hits. The Sunday night concert took place even as human rights campaigners and activists called on Bieber to cancel his performance to protest the kingdom’s arrests and crackdown on critics.

Bieber’s model wife, Hailey Baldwin Bieber, posted a supportive video on Instagram of him on stage, with the words: “Go Baby.” Other videos on social media showed Bieber on stage solo, wearing a co-ordinated red outfit. Pop and R&B singer Jason Derulo performed before Bieber with backup female dancers in sweatpants and baggy tops.

August 8, 2018

Only a few years ago, this would have been an unthinkable scene in Saudi Arabia, where ultraconservative norms prevailed. Concerts were banned and unmarried men and women were segregated in public spaces. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is behind the sweeping changes as he works to modernize society, attract foreign investment and create jobs for youth.

Human Rights Watch and others, however, have called on celebrities to boycott the kingdom, saying such events are aimed at diverting attention and deflecting scrutiny from Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.

August 2, 2017

Bieber was the biggest name performer to take the stage as part of Saudi Arabia’s Grand Prix, which saw Lewis Hamilton win ahead of the last race of the Formula One season.

Bieber has not commented on the public pressure surrounding his performance and calls for him to cancel the show. Weeks before his show in Saudi Arabia, the fiancee of slain Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi joined a chorus of voices urging him not to perform at the kingdom’s F1 race.

In an open letter published by The Washington Post, Hatice Cengiz had urged the megastar to cancel his performance to “send a powerful message to the world that your name and talent will not be used to restore the reputation of a regime that kills its critics.” She noted that the decision to host the F1 race and invite a star like Bieber “comes directly” from the crown prince.

November 13, 2012

Bieber’s concert in Saudi Arabia comes shortly before he opens a world tour next year. The tour is being promoted by Live Nation, the company that owns Ticketmaster. Saudi Arabia’s state-owned sovereign wealth fund — steered by Prince Mohammed — is among the largest institutional holders in Live Nation, with a stake worth some $1.4 billion US. (CBC) 

Meanwhile, Tim Hortons has teamed up with pop superstar Justin Bieber to launch three new Timbit flavours — called Timbiebs — along with co-branded merchandise. (Global) 

 

Saturday June 23, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday June 23, 2018

Citizen support has Bernie Custis, Nikola Tesla back in the mix for new Hamilton high school name

The chair of Hamilton’s public school board says trustees were as surprised as the public when the two most popular names for a new high school across from Tim Hortons Field didn’t even make the short list.

After asking for citizen input and hearing from almost 1,300 people, the advisory board tasked with providing finalists passed on the two with the greatest support — Bernie Custis, which had the most, followed by Nikola Tesla — for two with no local connection. It’s a decision that has led to a significant public outcry.

“I think it’s the names we missed that had us scratching our heads,” Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board chair Todd White says.

Emails and calls have been pouring in to White and to The Spectator over the past couple of days, and social media has been humming. White says after hearing from many Custis supporters — and a few Tesla backers — it’s clear there’s “overwhelming support” for those two.

The only people who’ve contacted him about Shannen Koostachin are some media from northern Ontario. The Indigenous teenager fought for a school in Attawapiskat, but died in a car accident before she could see it come to fruition. Her name was favoured by the advisory panel.

“We didn’t hear much from the community on that name,” White says.

This all started back in February when the board asked the public to suggest possible names through its website. (Continued: Hamilton Spectator) 

Saturday April 21, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday April 21, 2018

How Tim Hortons lost its connection with the Canadian public

Léger and National Public Relations last week released their annual report ranking Canada’s most admired companies. While some results were indeed surprising, others were not.

January 9, 2018

Both Google and Shoppers Drug Mart (owned by Loblaw) ended up at the top of the overall rankings, as well as the leaders in their sectors. Google has been No. 1 for six years now. It was surprising to see that eighth-place Kellogg’s is the most respected food company in Canada. Campbell and Kraft, two other food companies, closed out the top 10. Despite bread-price collusion accusations, Sobeys moved up 10 places and remained the most admired grocer, while Subway was recognized in the food service category.

But Tim Hortons’ year was just plain awful. It went from No. 4 to No. 50 in just 12 months. This significant free fall can be linked to the very public spat between Tim Hortons franchisees and the Tim Hortons parent company, Restaurant Brands International (RBI). This dispute has taken its toll and likely affected the reputation of the iconic Canadian company.

RBI has been at war with Tim Hortons franchisees since 2014 when the holding company was created, and things have gotten progressively worse. While franchise owners – family businesses, really – were committed to serving communities, RBI swooped in with an efficiency-driven agenda. Menu changes, royalty structure modifications, higher costs of supplies to operate outlets – all were revised to serve RBI’s shareholders, and it paid off. The share price hit a record high last October of $85.

March 17, 2007

RBI’s ultimate commitment has been to its shareholders and not necessarily to the Canadian public. This year’s Léger-National rankings confirm that Canadians have been keeping tabs.

But RBI’s profit-driven agenda has started to work against it over this past year. Rallies to raise awareness of minimum-wage campaigns made Tim Hortons a public target right across the country. To make matters worse, reports surfaced suggesting that in Ontario, where the minimum wage increased by 22 per cent on Jan. 1, some Tim Hortons employees had been asked to pay for uniforms and cut out breaks. While other food chains were adapting well, the rift between RBI and its franchise owners in Ontario became even more evident to the public.

Now sales are slumping, and as a result, RBI shares have fallen to about $70. RBI’s response is to invest $700-million over the next four years, including a change to the interior design in all of its Tim Hortons restaurants. But here’s the catch: Most franchise owners will be required to pay more than $450,000 per outlet to support the cost of renovation and create an open-seating concept. Given that the average Tim Hortons franchisee owns three outlets, the cost to support RBI’s new redesign strategy will be well more than $1-million for a typical franchise owner. (Continued: Globe & Mail) 

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Tuesday January 9, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday January 9, 2018

Province vows to step up enforcement to ensure $14-minimum-wage is paid

The Ontario government is stepping up enforcement to ensure employers are paying workers the new $14-an-hour minimum wage.

Labour Minister Kevin Flynn said Monday that up to 175 new employment standards officers are being hired to inspect workplaces that may not be abiding with the hourly increase from $11.60 that took effect Jan. 1.

“You can’t break the law in the province of Ontario; you have to pay the minimum wage,” Flynn told reporters at Queen’s Park.

“Unfortunately, it appears some employers are abandoning the spirit of this legislation and some may even be doing more than that,” the minister said.

“The stories we’ve all heard over the past week have not only been disappointing, but quite frankly they’ve made the premier, myself, and others in this province angry,” he said.

That was a reference to the children of Tim Hortons’ billionaire co-founders reducing benefits to employees in response to the wage hike at their two franchises in Cobourg.

Ron Joyce Jr., whose father co-founded the coffee shop chain, and his wife, Jeri Horton-Joyce, daughter of Tim Horton, told workers they would no longer be entitled to paid breaks and would have to pay more for dental and health benefits.

The couple said the measures were to help their company cope with the jump in wages. Unlike independent businesses, franchisees cannot simply raise prices to offset higher labour costs.

Similarly, a Scarborough Tim Hortons outlet banned employees from accepting tips and stripped them of paid breaks in response to a $2.40-wage-rise.

Tim Hortons’ corporate parent has dubbed them a “rogue group,” the actions of which “do not reflect the values of our brand.”

Echoing Premier Kathleen Wynne, Flynn warned such “bullying behaviour will not be tolerated. (Source: Toronto Star) 

 

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Friday January 13, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday January 13, 2017

Justin Trudeau’s Ontario road show takes on partisan edge

Canadians who want to meet Justin Trudeau during his upcoming road tour town halls are being asked to first register their personal details with Liberal Mps.

That puts a political taint on the prime minister’s attempt at grassroots mingling, Conservative MP Candice Bergen (Portage–Lisgar) said Wednesday.

“Don’t call it an open town hall when it’s actually a Liberal rally,” she said. “It’s not at all the back-to-the-people tour that the prime minister described.”

Trudeau’s tour, which kicks off Thursday in Ontario, was originally framed as an effort by the prime minister to reconnect with Canadians on their priorities.

“The prime minister wants to hear from them on how they are feeling at the start of 2017, what their concerns and anxieties are, and what we can do to help alleviate that,” spokesperson Cameron Ahmed told the Star last week.

But the road trip — which continues on to Quebec, Prairies, and B.C. — has taken on partisan overtones as Liberal MPs hosting Trudeau at some of his Ontario stopovers are using their websites to glean personal data of those who want to attend.

Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen, who is hosting Trudeau’s Thursday town hall event in Kingston, promoted the event on Twitter and Facebook. “The prime minister wants to hear from you about issues that matter to you and our community as we enter the new year,” Gerretsen wrote.

His social media postings directed those who want to attend to sign up on his web page. To register for the event, attendees are asked to provide their name, email, postal code and telephone number. (Source: Toronto Star)