In Lobby Monitor news this week … 

Lobbying commissioner Nancy Bélanger made her first committee appearance of the 44th Parliament on Thursday, as she spoke before the House ethics committee for its study of Main Estimates 2022-23. She fielded questions from committee members about the proposed changes to the lobbyists’ code of conduct, recommended amendments to the Lobbying Act, and the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying’s engagement with stakeholders and the wider public.

Making her way from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to the Equality Fund and now to Enterprise Canada is Laura D’Angelo, who is the new head of federal government relations for the lobbying firm. D’Angelo’s new gig will have her co-ordinating the firm’s public affairs team with its other practices, including spin-off advertising and creative agency Creative Currency. Co-ordinating the different moving parts of a team is not new to D’Angelo. Between 2018 and 2020, she was senior manager of the PMO’s executive office, where she led the team supporting chief of staff Katie Telford and then-principal secretary Gerard Butts. 

In monthly lobbying, an advocacy week in early April helped the Canadian Federation of Agriculture nab the top spot with 51 reports for communications last month (of the total 2,188 communication reports). On the other end of those discussions were politicians including Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and her parliamentary secretary, Francis Drouin; Transport Minister Omar Alghabra; and the agriculture critics of other parties: the Conservatives’ John Barlow, the NDP’s Alistair MacGregor; and the Bloc Québécois’s Yves Perron. The federation noted in a press release on April 8 that it had three policy priorities for its Hill week: formalized, early engagement with farmers on agri-environmental policy plans; an increase to funding for environmental best management practices and disaster management in the next agriculture policy; and government support for the industry’s National Workforce Strategy for Agriculture and Food & Beverage Manufacturing. 

The International Boreal Conservation Campaign made its mark in our weekly communication reports feature by submitting the highest number (26) of reports for the week of May 9. Involved in the campaign are groups including Indigenous Leadership Initiative, Ducks Unlimited, and Pew Charitable Trusts. The goal of the initiative is to sustain Canada’s boreal forests through conservation and responsible economic development. A total of 793 communication reports were submitted that week. 

Turning up on the registry this week are planes, ports, and automobiles… The investment firm behind Edmonton-based Flair Airlines joined the registry for the first time to  engage the government in discussions about “investments and policy considerations in the air travel, tourism, and transportation sector to raise awareness of challenges posed to newer carriers,” according to 777 Partners’ registry file. Representing the company in discussions are Crestview Strategy consultants Muhammad Ali and Alexander Byrne-Krzycki, who are expected to reach out to PMO, Transport, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), and MPs.

Also interested in discussing transportation issues is San Terminals Ltd., which started its first file on May 6 with consultant Brad Lavigne of Counsel Public Affairs. Lavigne’s colleagues, Ben Parsons and Sheamus Murphy, joined the file on May 7. According to its registry file, San Terminals is interested in discussing its “current operations, future capital infrastructure and matters impacting the Canadian marine transportation sector.”

And Volta Energy Solutions Canada Inc. – which makes a component needed for electric vehicle batteries – hired seven consultants from KPMG LLP to help it with its application for funding from Innovation’s Strategic Innovation Fund. 

New registry files

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on May 20 at 9:02 a.m. ET

New registrations

Reactivations

And that leads us into a long weekend. The Lobby Monitor will be taking a break from publishing on Mon. May 23, in recognition of Victoria Day. We return to our regular schedule on Tues. May 24, to keep you company while MPs partake in their final constituency week before the mad policy dash to the rising of Parliament next month. We hope you have a safe and restful long weekend!