2 - Sunday, April 11, 1999 - North Shore News

Capilano College cola
deal faces more heat
Bob Mackin

News Reporter

C A L L it the Capilano
six pack.
Six people, i n c l u d i n g t w o
C a p i l a n o ('oUege students,
asked the federal c o m p e t i t i o n
bureau A p r i l 1 for a re\f
the college's controversial contract w i t h Coca-Cx)la.
They w a n t the bureau t o
decide whether the exclusixe
beverage supply and sponsorship agreement w i t h the cola
giant has created a m o n o p o l y
o n campus. I f the answer is yes,
the
Coke
and
Capilano
College officials w h o made the
deal
could
face
criminal
charges.
T h e Capilano six pack is:
Colleen Gillis, Shawn Ryan,
Jason Fischer, Lindsay Poaps,
Kevin
Millsip
and
John
I n g r a m . Gillis and Fischer are
Capilano College students; the
rest are self-described c o n cerned citizens.
U n d e r section nine o f the

federal ( x ) m p e t i t i o n A c t , a
m i n i m u m six people are needed t o apply for a review.
Ryan said sponsorship and
supply deals are being signed
by elementary and secondary
schools and colleges a r o u n d
the continent. Coke and rival
Pepsi are f u r t h e r i n g their d o m inance o f the market, at the
expense o f independent c o m panies.
" A t the same schools w h i c h
house business degree p r o grams that teach the value o f
c o m p e t i t i o n and free enterprise, the students learn a
rather c o n t r a d i c t o r y lesson
w h e n they go t o their cafeterias," Ryan said. " O u r schools
are everyone's concern. T h e
c o n d u c t o f c o r p o r a t i o n s is
everyone's c o n c e r n . "
O n e person w h o is c o n cerned is Peter van Stolk, president
of
V^ancouver-based
U r b a n fiiice and Soda. Urban's
flagship p r o d u c t is Jones Soda.
H e w o u l d love the o p p o r t u n i t } ' t o get Jones' products
— like blue bubble g u m soda

and diet f u t l i berry — o n campus. H e said U r b a n had no
chance t o b i d o n the deal
because i t wasn't publicly tendered. H e said he's t a l k i n g
w i t h company lawyers t o consider a c o m p l a i n t t o the c o m p e t i t i o n b u r e a u , because he
feels p u b l i c i n s t i t u t i o n s like
Capilano College owe local
companies like his a chance.
"They're
l o c k i n g everyb o d y o u t , i t d o e s n ' t make
sense," van Stolk said. " T h e
guy w i t h the most a m o u n t o f
dollars w i n s . "
Capilano ('ollege president
G r e g Ixc said he estimated the
Cx:>ke deal
to
be
worth
$ 5 0 , 0 0 0 a year t o the college.
H e said i t was brokered by
Spectrum
Marketing,
a
Vancouver-based
sponsorship
consultancy,
o n behalf
of
Capilano,
Kwantlen
and
Douglas colleges, as w^ell as
T r i n i t y Western U n h ersit)'.
H e said the college w i l l
cooperate w i t h the c o m p e t i t i o n bureau should i t proceed
w i t h an investigation.

NEWS photo Mike Wakefield

STUDENT Shawn Ryan voices support for an application to the competition
bureau. Six people want Capilano College's secret pop contract investigated.
T h e c o m p e t i t i o n bureau
application came a week after
the Capilano Courier student
newspaper tiled a f o r m a l freed o m o f i n f o r m a t i o n request
w i t h the college. Campus freed o m o f i n f o r m a t i o n commissioner and h u m a n resources
manager Valerie C o c h r a n is
reviewing the application.

A reporter w i t h the Ubyssey
s t u d e n t newspaper
at
the
University o f B.C. failed t o
o b t a i n details about a Coke
contract at the Point Grey u n i \'ersit\'. Pro\incial freedom o f
information
commissioner
D a v i d Flaherty agreed w i t h

Coke and U B C that the deal
needed t o remain secret in
order t o protect the business
and financial interests o f the
parties. T h e Ubyssey appealed
Flahert\''s decision, w h i c h w i l l
be reviewed by a Supreme
( x ) u r t judge.