With the acquisition of the Tim Horton’s franchise by Burger King parent, Restaurant Brand International a few years ago, the world changed for franchisees in the Canadian coffee and donut franchise – but apparently not necessarily for the better. We noted that franchisees created the Great White North Franchisee Association (GWNFA) just a few weeks ago to represent the interests of the franchise owners with respect to the brand. In that context, it appears that the internal brand advisory council had “proven ineffective” in representing franchise owner interests and “impotent at influencing RBI’s operational decisions.” We understand that franchisees on the RBI advisory board had all resigned to join the GWNFA, after which, Elias Diaz Sese, President of Tim Hortons apologized to the franchisees for not paying attention to their concerns and promised swift resolution!  Hmmmmm!