CALGARY — A Tim Hortons franchise operator in eastern Ontario says federal restrictions on temporary foreign workers contributed to its insolvency, with court filings showing that foreign workers made up most of the staff at two of its restaurants.As reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, MGB Ventures Inc. told Ontario Superior Court it employed fewer temporary foreign workers after Ottawa tightened the program. An affidavit lists 41 temporary foreign workers among the company’s 156 employees. At its Alexandria restaurant, 19 of 23 workers were temporary foreign workers, or about 83%. At its Dunvegan location, the figure was 15 of 25, or 60%.“The Government of Canada significantly restricted Temporary Foreign Worker programs,” the operator said in the filing. “As a result the company employs a lower number of temporary foreign workers.”MGB Ventures operated six Tim Hortons restaurants in Alexandria, Hawkesbury, Dunvegan, Vankleek Hill and L’Orignal. It said the small populations of the communities made recruiting difficult and that it used the federal program to fill jobs..OLDCORN: ‘Singh Hortons’ has become a national disgrace, no longer ‘Canada’s coffee shop’.The company listed $1.6 million owing to the Canada Revenue Agency, $1 million to Scotiabank and $600,000 to the Business Development Bank of Canada. Its filing attributes staffing difficulties to the federal rule changes; the figures alone do not establish that those changes caused its insolvency.Ottawa tightened the low-wage stream in 2024, including a 10% cap on temporary foreign workers at most worksites and a reduction in the maximum employment period from two years to one. It also shortened the validity of labour market impact assessments to six months. The federal government announced temporary relief for eligible rural employers on March 13, 2026. Provinces and territories could request measures allowing employers to retain their existing low-wage temporary foreign workers and raise the usual 10% cap to 15%. The government said the measures could begin as early as April 1; eligibility depended on a provincial or territorial request. Tim Hortons franchisees had pressed Ottawa over the restrictions, according to access-to-information records cited by Blacklock’s Reporter.An October 28, 2025, briefing note for the deputy minister of industry quoted operators warning that labour shortages were forcing restaurants to focus on survival instead of expansion.The note said the food-service sector faced more than 63,000 vacancies, but did not explain how that figure was calculated. It also said sector labour productivity had fallen 4% over the previous decade.The Tim Hortons Restaurant Owners Advisory Board sought a permanent end to the GST on restaurant meals and a tax credit for kitchen supplies. The operators argued that tax relief and access to foreign labour would help franchisees manage costs while keeping prices affordable.
