Mark Wafer, a Canadian Pioneer on Employing People with Disabilities

AccessTALK with Trish

Inclusive employer, Mark Wafer owns seven Tim Hortons in Toronto. Over the last 22 years Mark and his wife Valarie have hired over 150 people with disabilities to fill meaningful and competitively-paid positions in all areas of the operation, from entry-level to logistics, production and management. They currently employ 46 people with disabilities in a workforce of 250. Mark has proven that there is a clear business case for inclusive employment. Real jobs for real pay. Mark is a co-founder of Canadian Business SenseAbility, Canada’s national strategy on disability employment. He was a member of the Federal Government’s panel on marketplace opportunities for people with disabilities, and he’s an advisor to many governments, both in Canada and internationally. A recipient of Canada’s Meritorious Service Cross as well as the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship, Mark was inducted into the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame in 2014. Mark is also a motorsports enthusiast, race car driver and former amateur sports car champion. Listen in and hear how Mark has made history in the food service industry while he’s cultivated a company culture that is inclusive of all abilities.