Starbucks has been tapped to provide the Canadian Parliament with coffee in a new pilot project, reports Canada.com.  Until the end of June, Starbucks will be served in select locations in cafeterias throughout the buildings.  While some Members of Parliament are excited about the idea, other are complaining that they ought to have given preference to Tim Horton’s  – a Canadian icon and coffee behemoth. 

    The real loser, however, might be Kingston Ontario based coffee retailer Multatuli.  They’ve been the official supplier on Parliament Hill for a few years and they haven’t been replaced (yet) – but at a time when consumers are increasingly green conscious, Starbucks incursion may not sit well.   According to an editorial with Osprey News, Multatuli “composts its coffee waste, uses renewable energy to fuel its roasters, and deals fair-trade coffee grounds it purchases from producers in underdeveloped countries such as Nicaragua and Guatemala“.   I suppose there’s no room at the House of Commons cafeteria for Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s environmental plans?

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