Here’s the news we covered this week:

Two associations are leading opposing campaigns to the federal Liberals’ extended interswitching pilot project. Railway Association of Canada’s Lora Smith said that the organization strongly opposes extended interswitching because “it has now allowed U.S. railroads to come in and pull traffic away from Canadian railroads.” Meanwhile, the Canadian Canola Growers Association’s Dave Carey told The Lobby Monitor that his group and their partners support extended interswitching because it “is really the only meaningful way for shippers, and the farmers that they buy their products from, to incentivize any competition.”

The Lobby Monitor covered the House ethics committee’s June 4 meeting featuring Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault and Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein. The meeting focused on new information revealed about Boissonnault's connection to Global Health Imports, a medical procurement company he co-founded. Von Finckenstein told the committee that he will look into the new information.

Dana McCauley, CEO of Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN), talked to The Lobby Monitor about the organization’s advocacy efforts to secure additional funding for its members that are looking to address food affordability through innovative technology. “[In] every meeting I've had with an MP, food affordability has been on their minds,” she said. “Quite a few of them were also very interested in problems that might be inhibiting innovation.”

In this week’s communication reports, Canada's Ocean Supercluster (OSC) submitted the highest number of communications to the federal lobbyists' registry in the past week thanks to the organization’s May 27 lobby day. The organization is represented by Siera Draper of National Public Relations, who submitted a total of 10 reports. During its May 27 lobby day, the OSC announced three new ocean industry projects totalling $14.2 million that would contribute towards advancing its Ambition 2035 goal.

In this week’s registrations, the Georgian Bay Preservation Alliance is joining the federal lobbyists’ registry for the first time to raise awareness of the organization’s conservation efforts in the Georgian Bay region of Ontario. Derek Lipman of Sussex Strategy Group is representing the alliance on the federal registry. Communications will also focus on ensuring that the Georgian Bay region’s waterways and ecosystems are protected from pollution by municipalities and other entities, according to Lipman’s registry file.

Also joining the registry for the first time is Viotika Life Sciences Inc., which is being represented by Bruce Hartley of Prospectus Associates. Hartley will seek federal funding to support Viotika’s life sciences research on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), according to the consultant's file. Viotika is a Canadian biotech company focused on researching antibiotics that can help address AMR.

Potentia Renewables Inc. returns to the registry more than a year after its previous file was deactivated. It is also represented by Sussex Strategy’s Derek Lipman. Lipman will seek discussions regarding federal interest in permitting Potentia to use federally-owned land to produce renewable energy using solar and wind power, according to his file. Potentia owns and operates several renewable energy facilities across Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan.

New Registry

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on June 7, at 9:04 a.m. E.T.

New Registration

Reactivation