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

Liberal MP Ryan Turnbull criticized the publicizing of ethics complaints for “political purposes'' during a committee meeting reviewing conflict of interest rules for MPs on Feb. 10. Turnbull said he was concerned that, under the current rules, requests for ethics investigations can be made public before those investigations are completed. Turnbull made the comments during a Feb. 10 meeting of the procedure and House affairs committee, which is formally reviewing the code for the first time since 2015.

Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne was the most popular cabinet minister for lobbyists in 2021, while Liberal MP Francis Drouin was the most targeted parliamentarian outside of cabinet, according to a review of 2021 lobbying records by The Lobby Monitor. The Lobby Monitor has collated the MPs that lobbyists communicated with the most in 2021, based on a search of the federal lobbyists’ registry.

Sussex Strategy, Counsel Public Affairs, and Proof Strategies have started the year with a number of promotions and new additions to their teams. Christina Marciano at Sussex was promoted from senior associate to vice-president of the firm’s environment practice, while Roberto Chavez, formerly an associate, has been promoted to senior associate of federal government relations, and Alex Simakov is now a senior associate in the energy practice. Counsel, meanwhile, announced that Ben Parsons has been promoted to associate vice-president, while Bridget Howe has been named account director of federal advocacy. Counsel also announced that Laila Hawrylyshyn, a former staffer in the Liberal Party, has been hired as a senior consultant. Over at Proof Strategies, Chris McCluskey has been named senior director of government relations, and Maurice Rioux has stepped into McCluskey’s former role as director of government relations.

The Chamber of Marine Commerce (CMC) filed 10 of the 173 communication reports posted to the registry last week. The chamber represents approximately 100 marine industry organizations, including Canadian and U.S. ports, ship owners and operators, industrial shippers, and logistics companies. The chamber communicated with Transport Minister Omar Alghabra on Jan. 11 and Jan. 31. Other ministers contacted on Jan. 31 include Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, Small Business Minister Mary Ng, and Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough.

In new registrations, GoFundMe Inc. hired consultants David Rodier and Darcy Walsh, both of Edelman, who registered on Feb. 2 to represent the company in discussions with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Public Safety, Justice, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), as well as with MPs and senators. According to its registry files, the Redwood City, Calif.-based company wants to discuss its “policies and practices” and will be “engaging with parliamentary committees as requested by elected officials.”

Also new to the registry is Accessible Media, Inc. (AMI), which started its first file on Feb. 8 with Kevin Goldstein, owner and founder of Goldstein Communications Law Professional Corporation. AMI is a not-for-profit media company for Canadians who are blind or partially sighted. The Toronto-based company operates one French-language and two English-language broadcast services. AMI has joined the registry to discuss Bill C-11 with officials to ensure it and “broadcasting policy generally support programming and services for Canadians with disabilities,” according to its file. Goldstein plans to communicate with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, as well as MPs and senators.

Returning to the registry is Dispension Industries Incorporated, a Dartmouth, N.S.-based company that builds automated drug dispensers. Dispension Industries added Darrell Dexter of Global Public Affairs to the file on Jan. 11. Dexter previously represented the company between July 23, 2020, and Nov. 16, 2021. According to its file, Dispension Industries is “seeking new federal funding opportunities for market and business expansion and the distribution of its product across Canada.” Dexter plans to communicate with 12 government institutions, including the PMO, Health, Innovation, and Public Services and Procurement, as well as with MPs.

New registry files

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on Feb. 11 at 9:08 a.m. ET

New registrations

Reactivations