Media Statement - Hiring Canadians First

OAKVILLE, ON, April 24, 2014 /CNW/ - At Tim Hortons we have a 50-year history of hiring Canadians first. With more than 90,000 Canadian team members in our system, of many different cultural backgrounds, our restaurant owners are one of the country's largest employers of Canadians. 

In a small number of markets, primarily in Western Canada, there are not enough Canadians to fill all the positions and shifts in our restaurants. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program is used only after our franchisees have exhausted all efforts to hire Canadians, and have proven that to the government. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program has been a crucial tool to allow our local franchisees in some communities to be able to operate their restaurants and keep all of their employees working. 

We have invested millions of dollars recently to open new restaurants, creating thousands of direct additional jobs for Canadians as well as hundreds of spin-off jobs in construction, maintenance and other industries. Complementing our Canadian staffing in markets with critical labour shortages with select use of Temporary Foreign Workers has enabled us to continue those investments that create Canadian jobs. 

Tim Hortons has a strong track record in responsibly using this program. In a few isolated incidents where that has not been the case, we have acted to remove those franchisees from our system. 

We have not tolerated isolated abuse of Employment Standards for Canadian or Temporary Foreign Workers in the past, and we will not in the future. We will continue to work hard to create a positive, fair work environment for all of our team members. 

Tim Hortons backs up our commitment to strong labour standards through an auditing program, which we have had in place since 2010. Following continued enhancements to that program since that time, we are now broadening our audit program, to include mandatory independent audits for every franchisee who accesses the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. 

We encourage the government to make independent audits mandatory for every company that uses this crucial program to reassure Canadians of the integrity of the program. 

We and our restaurant owners believe these steps are the right thing to do. We will continue to work with the government to make this vital program better and applaud the government's efforts for strong and fair enforcement of the program to protect all Canadian and foreign workers.

About Tim Hortons Inc.

Tim Hortons is one of the largest publicly-traded restaurant chains in North America based on market capitalization, and the largest in Canada. Operating in the quick service segment of the restaurant industry, Tim Hortons appeals to a broad range of consumer tastes, with a menu that includes premium coffee, hot and cold specialty drinks (including lattes, cappuccinos and espresso shots), specialty teas and fruit smoothies, fresh baked goods, grilled Panini and classic sandwiches, wraps, soups, prepared foods and other food products. As of December 29, 2013, Tim Hortons had 4,485 systemwide restaurants, including 3,588 in Canada, 859 in the United States and 38 in the Gulf Cooperation Council. More information about the Company is available at http://www.timhortons.com/.

SOURCE: Tim Hortons

Olga Petrycki, [phone] or [email protected]