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

Ethics commissioner Mario Dion presented six recommendations to a committee reviewing the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons. Appearing before the procedure and House affairs committee on Thursday, Dion suggested that the code changes to include a focus on inexpensive gifts and avoiding circumstances where the friends of MPs could benefit from those relationships. Dion was the first witness to appear before the committee during its review of the code, which was last amended in October, 2015.

Transportation, agriculture, and retail associations hope that the National Supply Chain Summit held on Jan. 31 will help improve both short- and long-term problems exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra hosted the half-day summit on Jan. 31 to discuss challenges and solutions to supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Attendees included the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Association of Canadian Port Authorities, and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.

Former Ontario finance minister Charles Sousa has joined Loyalist Public Affairs as a senior adviser. Seeking a return to interacting with stakeholders and policy work, Sousa said he will be primarily client-facing in his new role, working in tandem with the firm’s government relations team on a variety of files. “They’ll be engaged in discussions with the ministries, with the bureaucrats and with elected officials,” he said. “My job will be to help some of the clients and ensure that we provide the services that they need.”

Food and Beverage Canada (FBC) posted 15 of the 145 communication reports submitted to the registry last week. Represented on the registry in house by CEO Kathleen Sullivan, FBC represents approximately 1,500 food and beverage manufacturing businesses in Canada. FBC communicated with Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Jan. 19; Terry Beech, parliamentary secretary to Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, on Jan. 11; Conservative employment critic Stephanie Kusie, on Jan. 17; and Dave Epp, the Conservatives’ deputy agriculture critic, on Jan. 12. The organization also communicated with Senator Robert Black of the Canadian Senators Group on Jan. 12. FBC is proposing an “emergency foreign worker program” to address labour shortages in the food processing sector.

In new registrations, Belize’s Ministry of Finance has joined the federal lobbyists’ registry as the country seeks Canada’s support in its bid to become eligible for World Bank financing. The ministry started its first file on Feb. 1 with Idee Inyangudor,  vice-president of global partnerships at Wellington Advocacy. According to its file, it is interested in discussing Belize’s country status reclassification at the World Bank. Inyangudor will communicate with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Global Affairs, and Finance.

Toronto-based Rainbow Railroad joined the registry on Jan. 10 with executive director Kimahli Powell. Founded in 2006, Rainbow Railroad assists LGBTIQ+ people facing criminal or other persecution based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics. Rainbow Railroad will ask the federal government to provide a policy for permitting internally displaced LGBTIQ+ persons to relocate to Canada as refugees, as well as more pathways to safety for refugees, according to the organization’s registry file. Powell will communicate with Global Affairs and Immigration.

Increasing its representation on the Hill is Twitter Canada, which added David Dyer and Fernando Minna of The Capital Hill Group on Jan. 24. The pair join Michele Austin, Twitter’s director of public policy for the U.S. and Canada, who has represented the company on the registry since Oct. 1, 2019. According to its file, the social media company is interested in discussing privacy legislation, digital tax proposals for the Income Tax Act, and intellectual property proposals related to copyright and online content. Dyer and Minna plan to communicate with 15 government institutions, including the PMO, Finance, Heritage, Global Affairs, Innovation, and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, as well as with MPs and senators.

New registry files

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on Feb. 4 at 9:09 a.m. ET

New registrations

Reactivations