From the article:

"It is very unfortunate that certain owners have chosen to make these public accusations,” Sami Siddiqui, president of Tim Hortons’s Canadian division, said last week in a letter to franchisees after the lawsuit was launched"
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What's unfortunate? The fact that the franchisees made the accusations? Or the fact that they made them public?

I think we all know the answer to those questions. 

It's just too bad that these corporate entities are messing with a Canadian brand of iconic stature all in the name of the shareholders and their profit margins.

Really, a very sad state of affairs that it is happening at all, IMO.

It's the franchisees who BUILT that company into what it is today, a Canadian icon. Maybe RBI should reflect on that as we approach Canada's 150th birthday.