A small-town Tim Hortons in Picton, Ontario, is at the centre of serious allegations involving arranged child marriage and immigration fraud. But now, attention is shifting to how police responded instead of the alleged crimes.

This unfolding has triggered an internal review by the Ontario Provincial Police, specifically their East Division.

The controversy began when a now-terminated manager at the franchise allegedly offered a vulnerable 17-year-old girl between $15,000 and $20,000 to marry her 25-year-old brother, a foreign national from India, in what appears to be an immigration scheme to secure permanent residency. Text message exchanges shared in the initial report corroborate the claims.

Original allegations raise serious red flags for a host of potential criminal offences, including child exploitation, human trafficking, bribery, immigration fraud, and conspiracy to misrepresent facts to Canadian immigration authorities.

While gathering evidence on the ground, I entered the restaurant and posed a pointed, albeit satirical, question: Could I marry the manager’s brother for $20,000? The purpose was to prompt a response or denial from the accused parties. Instead, staff refused to comment. I then left without incident, captured necessary visuals for the story, and continued interviewing whistleblowers and protesters outside.

Later, two OPP cruisers arrived. I approached the officers to ask if the alleged immigration and exploitation scheme was being investigated. One officer confirmed that it was. But as the officers proceeded inside to clarify the nature of the call they received, it was revealed that the franchise owner had accused me of trespassing.

Shout out to this BASED OPP Constable

Tim Hortons in Picton, Ont. tried to trespass me while investigating the staggering allegations of immigration fraud at the location where a MINOR was offered $20K for an arranged marriage with her managers brother

He was having NONE of it pic.twitter.com/532JK1NiVj

— Tamara Ugolini 🇨🇦 (@TamaraUgo) September 30, 2025

This development, caught on camera, surprised both myself and the officers — particularly since I had not been asked to leave and had already exited the property peacefully, on two separate occasions.

Under Ontario’s Trespass to Property Act, trespass is only an offence if a person enters or remains on private property after being given proper notice — either verbally, in writing, or through signage. None of those legal thresholds were met in this case, yet police were still dispatched.

Now, OPP East Region has launched an internal review into how the responding officer(s) handled the incident and the accusation of trespass.

The #OPP is aware of a video showing an officer responding to a request from restaurant staff to remove an individual who was filming inside their business.

In Ontario under the Trespass to Property Act, property owners or those responsible for a property have the legal right to… pic.twitter.com/Wf3YoL9rlr

— OPP East Region (@OPP_ER) October 4, 2025

The responding officer appeared to handle the matter with discretion and professionalism, ultimately not pursuing the baseless claim. However, the fact that a media member reporting on potential human trafficking was the subject of a police call raises concerns about the use—or misuse—of law enforcement resources.

A media inquiry was sent to Bill Dickson, Media Relations Coordinator for OPP East, seeking clarity on the scope of the review, whether this location has a history of calling police on media or protesters, and whether businesses are using police as a tool to suppress investigative journalism. The inquiry was acknowledged, but no response was received by publication.

Meanwhile, more individuals have come forward with similar allegations involving other fast-food locations in nearby Wellington, pointing to what could be a coordinated scheme of exploitation and immigration fraud operating across multiple franchises.

As this story continues to unfold, one thing is clear: diverting police attention to intimidate journalists will not bury allegations of criminal wrongdoing. The real investigation — and the public’s right to know — is just beginning.

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