Police in Ontario are being forced to remind the public what, exactly, constitutes an incident worth calling emergency services for after one individual decided to contact 911 to complain about a fast food restaurant.

And it's not the first time this exact thing has happened in the province, either.

Peel Regional Police issued a tweet on Monday imploring residents not to call emergency lines for anything other than, well, a real emergency, sharing a recording of the call in question — which pertained to a Tim Hortons order — to prove their point.

In the clip, the aggrieved customer tells the dispatcher that he requires police, as the "bought an Iced Capp from Tim Hortons... but they are not giving me a replacement."

"Is this a life or death emergency, sir?" the operator asks, her tone conveying it all. She then offers to provide the resident with the phone number for the authority's non-emergency line, to which he pauses and replies "I think I'm good," hopefully realizing his mistake.

Coffee mishaps are brutal, but NOT a 911 emergency! Nor were nearly 125,000 misuse calls & 180,000 hang-ups last year. Our 911 Centre takes a call every 45 seconds. Meanwhile, a person with a real emergency may be waiting on the line and unable to get through. #911AwarenessPeel pic.twitter.com/EthsIpgr6s

— Peel Regional Police (@PeelPolice) September 25, 2023

"Coffee mishaps are brutal, but NOT a 911 emergency! Nor were nearly 125,000 misuse calls & 180,000 hang-ups last year," the force wrote in a caption.

"Our 911 Centre takes a call every 45 seconds. Meanwhile, a person with a real emergency may be waiting on the line and unable to get through."

They also list off what constitutes a true emergency: attacks and assaults, gunshots, fires, medical emergencies, crimes in progress (such as fights or break and enters), when a serious crime has just occurred (such as a robbery or sexual assault), or when witnessing any highly suspicious activity (such as a prowler or vandal).

Non-emergencies for which you should not call 911, meanwhile, include noise complaints, crimes that did not just occur (such as a theft from the night prior), crimes with no suspect (such as a stolen item), or an ongoing crime issue for which there is no suspect on scene and nothing happening at that particular moment.

@NatKusendova @fordnation Please pass legislation to make the misuse of 911 a criminal offence with a large fine to bring us in line with other provinces. This will keep citizens safer and lead to less toe-ups when calling.

— David Brennan (@DBrennanCYW) September 26, 2023

Given the hilarious and frankly idiotic nature of the example used, people are jumping to comment on the incident, suggesting that cops start issuing tickets for the misuse of such lifelines, or enact some other kind of enforcement to prevent these types of calls.

The issue is especially concerning given that people who call 911 with true crises are now often being left on hold due to backlogs and staffing issues.