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

The Lobby Monitor has collated the parliamentarians that lobbyists communicated with the most over the first six months of 2022. A search of the federal lobbyists’ registry shows Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne was the most popular cabinet minister for lobbyists during the first half of the year, while Liberal MP Francis Drouin (who is also the parliamentary secretary to Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau) was the most targeted parliamentarian outside cabinet. In the Senate, meanwhile, the Canadian Senators Group’s  Rob Black appeared in the highest number of reports, followed by Independent Senator Paula Simons.

Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights has returned to the federal lobbyists’ registry for the first time in more than three years as discussions about abortion and contraceptive access continue in Canada and the U.S. The organization’s current campaigns are based on a two-pronged strategy, focusing on both political advocacy and public education. “There's an important moment now as we see the rise of anti-rights rhetoric globally for Canada to be continuing to hold that leadership boldly and strongly,” said Kelly Bowden, Action Canada’s director of policy, advocacy and government relations.

Bernie Morton has joined Crestview Strategy as a vice-president in the firm’s Calgary, Alta. office. Morton plans to bring his combination of experience in the political world, the bureaucracy, and the private sector to his new role. “I've always said, whenever I was in the public sector… that I was in the wealth creation business,” he told The Lobby Monitor. “It would seem awkward for many people to think that you have a senior bureaucrat being in the wealth creation business, but the government has the ability to facilitate wealth creation, amongst not only just companies but amongst individuals and the people who those companies employ by ensuring that good strong policies are in place.”

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) posted nine of the 109 communication reports submitted to the federal lobbyists’ registry in the first week of August as the organization discussed housing, infrastructure, and policing costs. The federation is represented on the registry by CEO Carole Saab and president Taneen Rudyk. The organization communicated with Dani Saad, senior policy adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on July 8; Mathew Hall, policy adviser to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, on July 5; Brandan Rowe, policy director to Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, on July 7; and Sacha Atherly, policy director to International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan, on July 29.

In new registrations, the Canada Psychedelic Businesses Association (also known as Psychedelics Canada) started its first lobby registry file on Aug. 8 (which was backdated to July 1). The association is represented on the registry in-house by co-ordinator Liam Bedard. According to its registry file, Psychedelics Canada will advocate for improvements to the “regulatory landscape for the legal psychedelics industry in Canada.” Bedard plans to communicate with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Health, Innovation, Justice, and Veterans Affairs, as well as with MPs and senators.

Cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase Group Inc. is also new to the registry. The San Francisco, Calif.-based company started its first file on Aug. 2 with Edelman consultant Graham Looney, followed by colleague Pierre Cyr on Aug. 8. According to its registry file, Coinbase is interested in discussing issues affecting the industry, “including stable coins and blockchain technology, as well as economic development and security related to the cryptocurrency industry.” (Stable coins are cryptocurrencies with a value tied to another currency or commodity.) Looney and Cyr plan to communicate with nine government institutions, including the PMO, Finance, Innovation, Public Safety, the Bank of Canada, and FINTRAC.

Boosting its representation on the Hill recently is Restaurants Canada, which added Temple Scott Associates consultants Don Moors, Damian Chiu, Duncan Rayner, and Kristina Proulx on Aug. 8. Proulx previously represented the food service industry association from Aug. 22, 2018 to Jan. 16, 2019.

The consultants join interim president and CEO Roy Little, who has represented Restaurants Canada on the registry since Feb. 23. According to its file, the Temple Scott Associates consultants will help organize Restaurants Canada’s lobby day meetings in Ottawa. Those meetings will include discussions about “labour force development, food safety, nutrition policy, taxation and trade in the restaurant industry,” according to the file. Chiu, Moors, Proulx, and Rayner plan to communicate with 15 government institutions, including the PMO, Finance, Health, Employment, Environment, and Immigration, as well as with MPs and senators.

New registry files

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on Aug. 12 at 9:05 a.m. ET

New registrations

Reactivations