“It’s 2018” – that’s all you have to say to get something accomplished in Canada.
So starts the story of one frustrated father whose tweets to Tim Hortons motivated Canada’s used-to-be-favourite coffee and Timbit chain to install diaper-changing tables in its men’s bathrooms across the country.
Chris Webb, a father of two, tweeted the following last week after he was forced to change 14-month-old son’s diaper in a Tim Hortons women’s bathroom:
Have a change table in them. Getting out the house with my 1 year old and going for lunch shouldn't mean that I have to explain myself to women as to why I'm in the women's bathroom. Brining this up to the supervisor in the restaurant I was told "it's ok the women don't mind"
— Chris Webb (@Crippit) August 3, 2018
The situation has left him “shocked and humiliated,” according to further tweets. Dads rushed to share their stories with hashtags ranging from #mengoplaceswithbabies to #yayfordadsonbabyduty.
Hey that happened to me too! I was shocked. I thought I must have found the only @TimHortons in Canada without a mens room change table. I guess not. I remember feeling bad for monopolizing the women's room as well!
— Luke McPherson (@lukemteacher) August 3, 2018
@TimHortons Seriously? No support for us solo dads? I just checked my calendar – 1950 wants its gender roles back.
— James Petersen (@EduCoder) August 5, 2018
Well, guess what? Tim Hortons responded in impressively quick fashion, saying they will outfit their men’s bathrooms with diaper-changing tables across the company’s millions of locations from coast to coast.
“Constructive conversation with Tim Hortons this afternoon,” Webb tweeted. “All restaurants across Canada are being refurbished and change tables are being installed where possible.” #yayfordadsonbabyduty indeed.
“Obviously as a family brand, we need to make accessible changing tables available for all of our guests. This is now standard in our new restaurant design that is rolling out across Canada,” said Tim Hortons in a statement to CBC News.
So while tweeting may have caused Canada’s most significant diplomatic row in recent memory, it has also ushered in a progressive initiative for a company that could use all the help it can get right now.