The general manager of the Calgary Poppy Fund and Veterans’ Food Bank says he hopes no one gets in big trouble over poppy-emblazoned doughnuts that were sold at a local Tim Hortons.
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“It was all good intentions, I understand. Nobody was out to hurt anybody,” John Rathwell said Thursday.
The doughnuts, with petals made from red sprinkles surrounding a circle of what appears to be jelly, caused a social media stir after an image of them was posted on the popular Calgary Twitter account Crackmacs.
“How incredibly insensitive and short-sighted,” one Twitter user responded.
Others chimed in to say the move did not sit well and it was not appropriate to cash in on Remembrance Day.
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Rathwell said he would have preferred it if the business had reached out to his group before Remembrance Day about partnering to raise funds for veterans.
“The poppy symbol is a registered trademark and permission should be asked,” he said, noting many consider the symbol sacred.
“But at the same time, I thought somebody taking that initiative during this time of remembrance is an admirable thing.”
The southeast Calgary Tim Hortons franchise where the doughnuts were sold declined to comment.
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“As a proud Canadian brand, we have the utmost respect and honour for our veterans,” the chain’s head office said in a statement.
“The restaurant owner, who independently owns and operates this restaurant in Calgary, will be matching and donating 100 per cent of the poppy donut proceeds to the Royal Canadian Legion.”
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