TORONTO -- A Tim Hortons location in Ottawa has taken down a sign threatening customers with trespassing if they stay longer than 30 minutes.
The sign was posted at a Tim鈥檚 on Queen Street in downtown Ottawa and warned customers that the police would be called if anyone failed to leave after the allotted time.
鈥淭his is to inform you that under the Trespass to Property Act, that you are not under any circumstances, permitted access to, or be on the premises of, Tim Horton鈥檚 330 Queen St Ottawa,鈥� the sign read.
鈥淭his notification is to clear the place within 30 minutes after purchase (sic) Tim Horton鈥檚 product, failure to do so will consider (sic) as a trespassing, the Ottawa Police Service will be contacted, who will be instructed to charge you under the Trespass to Property Act.
鈥淎 copy of this letter has been sent to the Ottawa Carleton Police.鈥�
The notice, which was still in place at 1 p.m. EST on Saturday, was signed by restaurant management.
A spokesperson for the company told CTVNews.ca late Saturday that the sign has now been removed.
鈥淎t Tim Hortons we strive to provide a welcoming environment for all guests,鈥� a Tim Hortons spokesperson said.
鈥淭his includes time to sit and enjoy their purchases. The restaurant was attempting to deal with a few isolated issues of extreme loitering, but the sign doesn鈥檛 reflect our values of creating a welcoming environment, so it has been removed.鈥�
Staff on site told 麻豆传媒 Ottawa the sign was posted for 鈥渢he safety of customers and staff鈥� and that they 鈥渟ee a lot of homeless people.鈥�
But backlash to the sign was fierce. A local councillor and commentators on social media said the sign discriminated against those with disabilities and senior citizens.
"That excuse about security, I just don't buy it," said Somerset ward councillor Catherine McKenney."This discriminates against people who are homeless, seniors as well, people with disabilities."
One Twitter user called the sign 鈥渟hameful,鈥� another said it was because of the government鈥檚 failure to deal with homelessness. But others agreed with the sign and said that loitering is a problem for some Ottawa businesses.
With files from 麻豆传媒 Ottawa's Christina Succi
