Disabled man argues no access to Tim Hortons drive-thru violates human rights
Last Updated: Monday, June 15, 2009 | 6:54 PM AT
CBC News
Dave Matthews says he should be able to use the drive-thru at Tim Hortons in Bedford, N.S. (CBC) A man from Lower Sackville, N.S., is threatening to take Tim Hortons to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission because he can no longer get his coffee.
Dave Matthews needs a motorized scooter to get around because of a physical disability.
He used to get his coffee at the Tim Hortons drive-thru in Lower Sackville. But at a new location, in Bedford, he ran into trouble.
The attendant wouldn't serve him because of a company policy banning pedestrians, bicycles and wheelchairs, including motorized scooters, from using the drive-thru. Matthews says that means no coffee for him, because he can't manoeuvre his scooter through the front door.
"It would take three people to get me in. And I don't even know if I'll be able to turn around when I get inside. And, if I don't run over somebody inside trying to back this up, it would be a small miracle," Matthews said.
Dave Matthews says he can't manoeuvre his scooter through the front door of Tim Hortons. (CBC) Matthews said it's a matter of rights, arguing that he should be able to use the drive-thru.
"It's clear stupidity. That people can't be that tolerant [about] people's condition," he said.
A Tim Hortons spokesman, David Morelli, said it's too dangerous for scooters in the drive-thru because sometimes patrons drive fast while leaving the window.
Morelli said he will be reminding all of the Tim Hortons stores about the policy.
Corrections and Clarifications
- Dave Matthews has clarified that his real concern is not so much being able to get coffee, but that Canada does not have a disability act, and so his only resource is to file a complaint with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission. June 19, 2009|11:48 a.m. ET
