Tim Hortons franchisee in P.E.I. evicts tenants to make way for temporary foreign workers
CBC
One of three people fighting eviction notices they received from the local Tim Hortons franchisee in Souris, P.E.I., says the company has no legal grounds to make tenants leave their apartment building.
DP Murphy Inc., which operates a number of Tim Hortons franchises across Prince Edward Island, bought the apartment building at 4 Pleasant St. in November, and issued eviction notices to the tenants on Jan. 5.
According to documents filed by the company with the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission, P.E.I.'s rentals regulator, the company plans to use the building to house temporary foreign workers.
"There's no legal grounds on which to do this at all," said Cécile Sly, one of the tenants taking on the corporation, its lawyer and now the provincial rentals regulator.
According to the eviction notices, DP Murphy said it's planning to convert the premises "to a use other than residential," which can be grounds for eviction under section 15(1)(b) of the Rental of Residential Properties Act.
Sly said they don't think that can apply, given the company has said it plans to house workers in the building.
They noted the property remains zoned as residential.
The mayor of Souris, JoAnne Dunphy, said there's been no application filed to change that zoning – but such a change would not be necessary in order for the building to be used for staff housing.
"If it was changing into a business such as a hotel, then it would mean the owner would have to apply for a zoning change and a business permit," Dunphy told CBC News via email.
"We certainly do not like to see anyone lose their homes," she added. "There is a shortage of housing in our area."
P.E.I. is seeing a pressing demand for both workers and housing.
When the province's tourism industry began to rebound post-pandemic in the latter part of 2021, employers in the service industry said they were having a hard time getting workers to come back to their jobs.
Since then, demand for workers has continued to grow, with the province's traditionally high unemployment rate reaching a record low of 4.9 per cent last June.
The P.E.I. government launched a new stream of its provincial nominee program early last year, open to the tourism industry.
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