By Riley Hill
A new food option may soon be available in the MacEwan Student Centre.
Student Legislative Council passed a vote on Tuesday, August 7, approving a Smokes Poutinery kiosk — a poutine chain based in Eastern Canada — to replace Prime Box Office in the MSC.
Students’ Union president Raphael Jacob led the discussion preceding the vote. After opening the floor for comments, several faculty representatives gave their support for the decision.
Jacob cautioned that the deal between Smokes Poutinery and the SU could still fall through, as all the necessary steps to bring in the new vendor have not yet been finalized. For this reason, no date for Smokes Poutinery’s opening has been decided.
“Something could always fail in the process and it could turn out that they are not actually able to use the space appropriately,” Jacob said.
Smokes Poutinery has an almost poutine exclusive menu, featuring novelties like pulled pork, bacon cheeseburger and chicken fajita poutine.
The deal fell under the portfolio of SU vice-president operations and finance Eric Termuende. He did not attend the meeting, but sent an email on the matter that was read aloud by Jacob.
“Following an in-camera meeting to protect the vendors, a discussion with the SU executive and staff, and the approval of the financing committee, Smokes is the vendor that we would like to pass today,” read the email.
The decision to bring in Smokes Poutinery was first voted on during SLC on July 23. The debate was between Smokes Poutinery and an undisclosed frozen yogurt vendor.
The second and final vote approving Smokes Poutinery as the vendor to replace PBO was unanimous.
Faculty of social work representative Michael Davis was the only member of SLC to offer any objection to the choice, joking that he would abstain from the vote because he doesn’t like poutine.
PBO was bought out earlier this year by the online ticketing company Ticketfly, leading the SU to search for a new vendor appropriate for the MSC.