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

Economic development led lobbying activity for the third consecutive month in July, appearing in 308 communication reports. The most active lobbying organization was the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, which contributed 21 communication reports. The Chamber, represented on the registry by president and CEO Perrin Beatty, is communicating with the federal government about measures to assist businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization contacted interim Conservative leader Andrew Scheer on July 9, as well as Natacha Engel, a senior policy adviser to International Trade Minister Mary Ng, in four instances between July 2 and July 16.

Industry stakeholders shouldn’t be idle during the summer months amid the prorogation of Parliament, according to Semhar Tekeste, senior public consultant at Enterprise Canada. Parliament is prorogued until Sept. 23, shutting down House committee studies and the the option of having industry representatives appear before House committees to share their perspectives. Tekeste recommends finding alternative ways to reach out to government officials. Alex Maheu, a senior consultant at Summa Strategies suggested an alternate avenue might be to contact the federal government’s industry strategy council, an advisory board assessing the impact of COVID-19 on Canadian businesses.

WE Charity started a file on the federal lobbyists’ registry on Aug. 13, and posted 65 communication reports dating back to January 2019. Federal ministers contacted by the charity include Minister of International Development Karina Gould on Feb. 7, Minister of Small Business Mary Ng on April 7, and Minister of Youth Bardish Chagger on April 17. The charity’s level of contact with the federal government reached its highest point in May 2020 with 13 communication reports posted.

The Foundation for Environmental Stewardship (FES) posted 78 communication reports last week, showing contact with designated public office holders (DPOH) between May 15 and Aug. 12. FES, represented on the registry by its executive director Steve Seungjoon Lee, is a charity that raises awareness among youth of environmental issues through workshops and community projects. The organization joined a coalition of more than 150 charities in March to advocate for action by the federal government in support of the charitable sector during the pandemic. The posted communication reports list contact with 50 MPs since May, including Green Party parliamentary leader Elizabeth May on June 23.

In new registrations, Laboratories Nexelis Canada started its first file on Aug. 13 with consultant Rémy Franzoni of Groupe Engram. The company is requesting $4 million from Innovation’s strategic innovation fund to support development of a COVID-19 vaccine. Nexelis has grown this year, with this year’s  acquisition of U.S. company AIT Bioscience and Belgium company ImmunXperts. Franzoni will communicate with Innovation.

Children’s charity Unicef Canada started its first file on Aug. 14 with president and CEO David Morley. The organization is calling on the federal government to provide greater investment towards issues including children’s health, nutrition, education and protection. Unicef conducted a survey between May 1 and Aug. 14, which found that 104 countries have reported disruption to violence prevention and response services for children due to the global pandemic. Morley will communicate with the Prime Minister’s Office, Justice Canada, Immigration, Global Affairs, the Canadian Human Rights Commission, as well as MPs and senators.

Selenis Canada started a file on Aug. 20 with consultant Daniel Duguay of Tactix. The company produces a lightweight plastic commonly used in soft drinks and food packaging, and is interested in speaking with the federal government about its planned ban on single-use plastics, which was announced in June 2019. Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in May 2020 that the pandemic will cause a delay in implementing some of the government’s environmental goals, including the plastics ban. Duguay will communicate with Environment, Natural Resources, Health and Innovation.

New registry files

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on Aug. 21 at 10:30 a.m.

New registrations

Reactivations