ASU to get 7% of Profits if Tim’s Deal Goes Through
Margaret Keaveny, the Science Rep for 08-09 wrote me in an email today saying that as an SRC councilor she was “NEVER informed until the [Tim Hortons] deal was near completion”, and that the ASU’s cut of Tim’s profits would be 7% (the ‘modest’ share Kyle referred to in his first response).
Letter to Kyle Steele from Sarah Haverstock
Hi Kyle,
I have just received a poignant email from Dewey detailing the impeding invasion of Tim Horton’s into the SUB. I do acknowledge that Tim’s is beloved to many Canadians and offers cheap, addictive coffee that half of our population runs on, however, the idea of a Tim Horton’s in the SUB does not contribute to what I think most students would like to see in their student’s centre. But as far as I can tell there is no way that you would know that, because student’s were not included in the decision making process. I am saddened that it is outside of the imagination of many students to picture a SUB with fair trade coffee from T.A.N., a local business, rather than a national corporation. I am saddened that the idea of paying a few cents more for coffee to pay a just price to farmers, who are fighting for their livelihoods and their dignity in the Global South, is not something that the ASU considers students willing to do. I am even more saddened that the ASU has failed to ask, inform, educate and inspire in this situation. (Read on …)
Letter to Kyle Steele from Alex Redfield
Hey Kyle,
I’m at the point where soon I won’t have much reason to send you any more emails, so I figured I’d get a last one in before we graduate! I’m writing to express my concern over two things: first, I’m disappointed that Tim Hortons is moving into the SUB, and second, I’m disappointed in how Tim Hortons was selected to move to the SUB. I figured I’d outline why I’m so disturbed by both the process and the conclusion and hope that you could shed some light on how things went down. (Read on …)
Response to Kyle Steele
Kyle,
Thanks for this, although I would question when these emails were sent out, and exactly what type of participation was encouraged, as I generally read every single all-student email. I guarantee that if the Tim Horton’s buzz word was prominently mentioned in January you would see a similar list of people emailing you.
Perhaps the negotiation is too far along to pursue another business option, but in the environmental community at Acadia there exist a few people who have worked with Tim Hortons in places around the country to make their franchises more sustainable. May I suggest that you contact Jodie Noiles from the Academy for the Environment so that she may have a say in the terms governing the sustainability of Tim’s in the contract? Tim’s is strongly bound by corporate policy set in other places, and her experience indicates to me that unless there are terms in the contract, the AES, SO, Academy for the Environment and others will face the same uphill battle we have been fighting with Chartwells for the last two years.
You could also make the actions the ASU has taken so far public as soon as possible, to facilitate open communication between the union executive and its members. I am not the only one who is curious as to the proccess by which Tim Horton’s was chosen, approached, and given priority. This could include, but shouldn’t whatsoever be limited to posting SRC minutes from meetings pertaining to this, as this section of the website hasn’t been updated since January 26.
I trust you will take responsible action given the circumstances you have put us in. While the SRC probably isn’t meeting again this term, the constituion seems to indicate that 50 signatures can call a meeting, and also that the ASU is subject to restrictions placed upon it by the university. If no action is taken to allow input from the stakeholders promoting sustainability or bring pertinent information into the public arena, we won’t hesitate to pursue either of these options.
Your office hours also aren’t posted on the website, but I’d like to see you sometime today about this.
Thanks,
-dewey
Response from Kyle Steele
Hi Dewey,
I have received a copy of the speaking points you sent out to a mailing list for the AES.
All of these people had a chance to come out and speak their minds over the last couple of years when the opportunity was publicly given through all-student emails and through the website. We had already entered into negotiations with the local franchisee (please keep in mind this is supporting a local owner) and we have already signed off on a letter of intent a day after my conversation with Amy which was about a month ago.
Over the last 2 years, as mentioned many times before, we have had focus groups, we have sent out surveys, and people answered and we have responded. If Just Us!, or Robin’s or TAN was chosen, we would also have a group of people, like the ones you have mobilized, that would not be happy because their favorite option was not the one the ASU would be going with.
This was, and continues to be a democratic process. I do appreciate the concern, and it’s not going unnoticed, but this process is far too along now for us to go back and cancel. If by some chance this blows up on the Tim Horton’s side of things, then we will certainly look to start all over, but until that time, we have committed ourselves to this local franchisee and it would be extremely disrespectful and unprofessional for us try and take signatures and talks away now.
With many thanks for your concern and involvement,
Kyle Steele
AES/SO Call to Action
Hello giant AES mailing list,
Many of you have probably heard the rumor that Tim Horton’s will be opening in the Perkin’s space in the SUB, and a recent email from Kyle Steele seems to indicate that this will be happening. However, nothing has been made public, which leads me to believe that there is still time at act. I/the AES/the SO have a few issues with the decision to place Tim Horton’s in the SUB, which include: (Read on …)
Open Letter 3 (from Amy)
Hi Kyle,
Thanks for getting back to us about this, and I appreciate that you are including Dewey and I in this discussion.
I want to clarify that the first time we met about food service, I was trying to take a supportive stance for the ASU’s choice to not include Chartwells and was looking at the positive side of having Tim Hortons as a food service in the SUB. However, Tim Hortons in my mind was a fall-back, if no other suitable business could be found. Yes, they have agreed to work on a couple sustainability initiatives, including sponsoring a water fountain which would be great, however I think if you take everything into consideration it would be a step backwards for Acadia University on the Sustainability-front. As current Sustainability Office coordinator, I am going to pursue this issue in the interest of campus sustainability, as not only my constitutional obligation but also as my sincere concern. (Read on …)
Open Letter 2
Note: things in strikeout have been corrected in subsequent emails.
Kyle,
thanks for this, you’ve been great for the two years I’ve been here, and I’m glad you’re willing to respond to student concern.
I wrote this email in no connection with Amy or any environmental organization on campus (Jodie from the academy supports Tim Horton’s coming in), and so my opinion doesn’t really reflect Amy’s or anyone else’s, probably. Amy just told me a brief summary of your meeting, and how Tim Horton’s came up as the top choice in focus groups.
I don’t particularly appreciate what appears to be (as in, I never heard about it before the ASU website reported it…was it open?) the closed nature of the decision…the ASU missed a huge opportunity to involve students in a decision they actually care about. I never would have won a fight against Tim Horton’s with students, but most of them have no idea how ASU decisions affect them, or even know what the SRC is (this includes me, before halfway through this year), and debate over a foodservice would have sparked some intrest. And maybe some thought as to the developed-nation exploitation (that was not intended to rhyme) of third-world resources, but that probably would have been forgotten by dinnertime. (Read on …)
Response from Kyle Steele
Hi Dewey and Amy,
Amy, a little over a month ago I had a conversation with you, outlining the process of which we went about coming to a decision to operate a Tim Hortons in the SUB. In that meeting, we seemed to be in agreement that if they did commit to some of the things we talked about, then this would not be that large of an issue. This is why I was taken a bit by surprise when I received this email and the email you sent me subsequently after our meeting. However, because of the concerns the two of you have outlined I will address them and explain why Tim Hortons will be the operation that opens in the SUB in September 09. (Read on …)
Open Letter to Kyle Steele
Kyle,
I never got to meet with you about this, although maybe we could sometime next week (your door says you’re in Ottawa this week), but I think your decision to buyout the contract with Chartwells represents a huge opportunity to invest in and build the student community, and I just wanted to make sure your decisions moving forward work to further that goal rather than take away from it. Moving away from Chartwells also introduces an opportunity to promote socially and environmentally responsible business that Chartwells, despite its efforts, was never able to acheive because of the corporation’s national scope. (Read on …)
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