Dave Matthews says he should be able to use the drive-thru at Tim Hortons in Bedford, N.S.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.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