Here’s the news we covered this week:

In this week’s On Queen Street, Chris Gray spoke with The Lobby Monitor about joining 3Sixty Public Affairs to focus on health-related lobbying. Gray, who is now a senior associate in the Ottawa practice, chose to join 3Sixty because it “has the capacity … to take a deeper dive on health issues and distill it down so that we can develop solutions that would make sense for the clients and the government.”

Emily Gruenwoldt, CEO of Children’s Healthcare Canada, told The Lobby Monitor about her organization’s plan to motivate federal, provincial, and territorial governments to work with children’s health advocates towards an integrated and properly resourced health care system designed for Canada’s youngest people. A shortage of over-the-counter children’s medication in fall 2022 and winter 2023 brought increased media and political attention, as well as greater public awareness, on the subject of children’s health care. “At that point in time, we saw the moment to bring awareness to how undersized our health care systems were and how we have been underfunded for decades [prior to the issue] really hitting the radar,” said Gruenwoldt. “So, this was a great opportunity for us to say this is what happens when we are underprepared and when we under-invest in children's health systems, and so it was a real call to attention.”

The Lobby Monitor covered a May 7 press conference on Parliament Hill held by advocates of single-payer pharmacare. Speakers called for the quick passage of Bill C-64 in the House of Commons, and pushed against those who advocate that the government should work on a fill-in-the-gaps system. The mixed-payer “approach falls short and misrepresents what kind of gaps currently leaves people without access,” said Frédérique Chabot, acting executive director of Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, during the press conference in West Block.

In this week’s communication reports, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. submitted the highest number of communication reports during the week of April 29. The company is represented by managing director Milena Trentadue, who filed 23 communications reports. A total of 199 communication reports were submitted to the federal lobbyists’ registry between April 29 and May 5. Discussions focused on various topics including the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act, harm reduction policies as they relate to smoke-free tobacco products, and the impact of contraband tobacco in communities.

In this week’s registrations, Climate Smart Buildings Alliance (CSBA) joined the federal lobbyists’ registry for the first time to engage government officials about the low-carbon building sector. The organization is represented by its executive director David Messer. The group’s discussions with the government will focus on sharing information regarding CSBA’s activities and working on aligning their projects with government priorities.

Also joining the registry for the first time is BWXT Medical, a company that produces the technologies connected to nuclear medicine. BWXT Medical is represented by Hendrik Brakel and Vanessa Lamarre of Sussex Strategy. The consultants will seek government funding to assist the company with the production of medical isotopes.

Lucas Borchenko is joining his Crestview Strategy colleagues Bill Anderson and Jon Robinson in representing the Carnival Corporation on the federal registry. The consultant will discuss the impact of the cruise ship industry on Canada’s economy and the company’s efforts to protect the environment and health of its guests. Carnival Corporation owns and operates multiple cruise lines around the world.

New Registry

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on May 10, at 8:58 a.m. E.T.

New Registration

Reactivation

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on May 10, at 8:58 a.m. E.T.

New Registration

Reactivation