Here’s a look back at the news we covered this week:

Michael Sauvé, who co-ordinated digital advertising campaigns for more than 150 Liberal candidates in the 2019 federal election, joined Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K) to expand the firm’s digital offering.

As a senior account director, Sauvé offers his digital and campaign experience to the firm’s Ottawa office.

Sauvé previously worked as a program lead at Data Sciences, a data management, public relations and advertising company, where he optimized social media advertising for Liberal candidates in the fall.

The power of social media advertising lies in how quickly it can be adjusted in response to public feedback, according to Sauvé.

Jenni Byrne, a former top adviser to Ontario Conservative Premier Doug Ford, launched her own public affairs consultancy firm on Feb. 25.

The firm, Jenni Byrne and Associates, is based in Toronto and offers services related to strategic communications, public and media relations, government advocacy and crisis management.

Staff members at the firm have not been announced yet, although Byrne said she would do so within the next week or so.

Byrne previously served as a principal secretary to Ford between 2018 and 2019. She was  also deputy chief of staff to former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper.

The House ethics committee voted down a motion on Feb. 24 to invite Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion to appear before them to discuss the Trudeau ll Report. The motion was put forward by Conservative MP Michael Barrett. Some committee members, such as NDP MP Charlie Angus and Conservative MP Damien Kurek, supported the motion, saying the report left unanswered questions about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the SNC-Lavalin affair.

The motion was defeated in a six-to-four vote, with Barrett, Angus, Kurek and Conservative MP Jacques Gourde voting in favour. Liberal MPs Élisabeth Brière, Han Dong, Greg Fergus, Brenda Shanahan and Michael Levitt voted against, along with Bloc Québécois MP Marie-Hélène Gaudreau.

For the second consecutive week, the dairy sector posted the highest number of communication reports on the federal lobbyists’ registry. The Saskatchewan Milk Marketing Board (SaskMilk) led the way with 19 reports posted between Feb. 17 and Feb. 23, out of a total of 179. Another dairy organization, the Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia, posted the highest number of communication reports (28), between Feb. 10 and Feb. 16.

Most of the reports posted from the dairy sector in the last two weeks are for communications that took place between Feb. 4 and Feb. 5, which were the dates of the annual dairy policy conference in Ottawa. SaskMilk representatives were on the Hill and discussed concerns related to the new NAFTA.

In new registrations, the Canadian Chinese Political Affairs Committee (CCPAC) started its first file on Feb. 21, to advocate for mandatory quarantines of those who have recently returned from China. The group said in its file it is concerned about Canada’s “lack of preparedness” to deal with the spread of the coronavirus, or COVID-19.

CCPAC registered with its co-founder Karen Woods, who will communicate with MPs.

The Life Saving Therapies Network (LSTN), a hub that connects patients, doctors and industry leaders to facilitate faster access to treatments, started its first file on Feb. 20. LSTN started its file with consultant William Dempster of 3Sixty Public Affairs, and then added consultant Jodie Kiss of the same firm on Feb. 24.

The network is interested in discussing issues including national pharmacare, health policies related to cancer patients, and the Canada Health Transfer.

Dempster and Kiss will communicate with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Finance, Health, Innovation, as well as MPs and senators.

Animal Justice, an organization dedicated to improving legal protections for animals, started its first file Feb. 20 with its executive-director Camille Labchuk. The group is interested in discussing Bill C-205, an Act to amend the Health of Animals Act, which was introduced on Feb. 18 by Conservative MP John Barlow. The act would make it an offence under the Health of Animals Act for someone to enter, without lawful authority or excuse, a place animals are kept if doing so could expose the animals to disease or toxic substances.

Labchuk will communicate with Environment, Agriculture, Fisheries and Oceans, and Justice Canada.
 

New registry files posted between 2020-02-24 and 2020-02-28

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on Feb. 28 at 8:15 a.m.
 

New registrations posted between 2020-02-24 and 2020-02-28

Reactivations posted between 2020-02-24 and 2020-02-28