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

Industry groups representing some of the businesses hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic are focusing on keeping economic recovery front and centre during the federal election campaign. “We’ve done a survey, we’ve done some opinion polling, and we’d already provided feedback to all the parties prior to the election campaign as to what we’d be looking for in their platforms,” said Corinne Pohlmann, senior vice-president of national affairs at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. The Tourism Industry Association of Canada, meanwhile, has launched a dedicated website with analysis of party platforms and digital advocacy tools. 

Another online resource set up during the campaign comes from the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying (OCL), which has dedicated some prime website space to resources to help lobbyists understand relevant rules and practices during the writ period. The OCL and the Government Relations Institute of Canada (GRIC) have been working to ensure lobbyists understand the risks and limits on political activities. “It certainly has to be something [lobbyists should be] aware of, and that they consider very carefully before determining that they wish to engage in higher risk activities and political activities during an election,” said GRIC president Jason Kerr.

The Lobby Monitor’s analysis of monthly communication reports in the most recent parliamentary session shows the Canadian Vaping Association, Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Federation of Canadian Municipalities were the most active lobbying organizations. The Lobby Monitor has put together a list of the 100 most active organizations during the period between September, 2020, and July, 2021. This list in the first in a series The Lobby Monitor will release over the coming weeks related to lobbying activity during the last parliamentary session. A new list will be released each Wednesday.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce was also prominent in last week’s communication reports, filing 21 of the 901 logged last week. Represented on the registry in-house by Perrin Beatty, its president and CEO, the chamber discussed legislation designed to make it easier for the owners of small and medium-sized businesses to sell those businesses to adult children or grandchildren. The chamber communicated with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on July 19 and July 30, Small Business Minister Mary Ng on July 16, Economic Development Minister Mélanie Joly on July 13, and Public Services Minister Anita Anand on July 28.

In new registrations, the Municipality of Jasper started its first file on Aug. 16 with Will Adams, who is listed as a consultant for a numbered corporation. The local government, whose jurisdiction falls within Jasper National Park, Alta. is seeking to phase out annual land rental payments to Parks Canada. Adams will communicate with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Privy Council Office, and Environment.

Also interested in discussing land is Carttera Private Equities Inc., which started its first file on Aug. 25 with Stefanie Morand of McCarthy Tétrault LLP. The Toronto-based property development and real estate company is requesting a temporary extension to the replacement property time limits in the Income Tax Act due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Morand will communicate with Finance.

Strengthening its registry file is Moderna, which added Patricia Gauthier, general manager for the company’s Canadian office on July 5. Gauthier is the first person registered to lobby under the name Moderna Biopharma Canada Corporation; nine consultants are currently on the registry under Moderna Therapeutics. According to its file, Moderna is interested in discussing the continuing development, procurement and distribution of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine in Canada, as well as future development of mRNA technology. Gauthier will communicate with Health, Global Affairs, and Public Services and Procurement.

New registry files

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on Aug. 27 at 9:00 a.m. ET

New registrations

Reactivations

No files were reactivated during this period.