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

Union leaders are urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to get involved in the health human resources (HHR) shortage impacting hospitals and health centres across the country. “They need to act. Canada's nurses need to hear hope from the highest level of politics in this country. I can't say it enough on how hard it is out there for those who are trying to hold the system together,” said Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU). The CFNU launched a letter-writing campaign targeting Trudeau and Freeland last month. The organization is asking Canadians to add their names to a letter demanding that the prime minister and finance minister “immediately” convene a first ministers’ meeting to discuss strategies to retain and recruit health care workers.

Brooke Malinoski has joined Enterprise Canada’s Ottawa office after four years of working in Prime Minister Trudeau’s office. Malinoski joined Enterprise on Aug. 2 as a senior consultant. She told The Lobby Monitor in a phone interview on Aug. 19 that she will be working on a range of files. “One of my favorite things about Enterprise is that the team's really integrated, so I'll be working with teams from across the country on a variety of different files that impact the federal government,” she said. “We're combining public relations and government relations with integrated social media and advertising.”

Rogers Communications led in communications posted to the federal lobbyists’ registry in July, posting 19 of the 1,320 communication reports submitted for last month. The telecommunications company is represented on the registry by president and CEO Anthony Staffieri. Six of Rogers’ communications took place on July 8, when a massive network outage affected the cellular and internet services of millions of customers. Those included two communications with Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne. Other reports cited communications with Ian Foucher, Champagne’s chief of staff; Lionel Fritz Adimi, policy adviser to Prime Minister Trudeau; Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) chair Ian Scott; and Eric Dagenais, senior assistant deputy minister at Innovation, Science and Economic Development.

In communications posted to the registry last week, the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) submitted 89 of the 430 communication reports added between Aug. 8 and Aug. 14. The institute communicated with Economic Development Minister Mary Ng on Jan. 17; and John Brodhead, currently director of policy to Prime Minister Trudeau, three times between April 16, 2021, and May 5, 2022. Two of the communications with Brodhead took place while he was Trudeau’s senior adviser for intergovernmental affairs. A CUI spokesperson told The Lobby Monitor that the topics raised in the communications included housing, the downtown core of cities, transit, main streets, intergovernmental co-ordination, and regional infrastructure planning and investment.

In new registrations, Canadian Rental Housing Providers for Affordable Housing has hired Compass Rose Group principal Jacquie LaRocque to represent it in discussions with 11 government institutions, including the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Finance, Innovation, Infrastructure, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The organization is made up of five rental housing companies: Calgary, Alta.-based Boardwalk REIT; Toronto-based Canadian Apartment Properties REIT; Halifax-based Killam Apartment REIT; and Ottawa-based InterRent REIT and Minto Apartment REIT. According to its registry file, the coalition plans to discuss proposals to improve the country’s housing supply, “including increased purpose-built multi-family rental housing, so that it is more affordable, accessible and energy efficient for Canadians.” LaRocque registered to represent the group on Aug. 5.

Also new to the registry is the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO), which started its first file on July 26 with CEO Doris Grinspun. RNAO represents approximately 48,000 registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and nursing students in the province. The association’s registry file states that it plans to advocate for an increase to the Canada Health Transfer (CHT), improved action against climate change, national long-term care standards, the decriminalization of possession and use of drugs amid the opioid crisis, and the rollout of pharmacare. Grinspun plans to communicate with Health and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Returning to the registry after a brief absence is Nestlé Canada Inc., which has hired Proof Strategies consultants Sandra Jansen, Greg MacEachern, and Cameron Penner to represent it in discussions with 14 government institutions, including the PMO, Agriculture, Finance, Global Affairs, and Health, as well as with MPs and senators. The Proof consultants registered on Aug. 16. According to its file, Nestlé is interested in discussing emissions, recycling, labelling, sustainability, and labour policies. The company is also seeking financial support from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Dairy Processing Investment Fund.