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

Associations representing workers in the arts and culture sectors told attendees at a national summit this week that they will call for more support to boost the industry’s resilience following the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. During a panel discussion on support for workers, Arden Ryshpan, executive director of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association (also known as Equity), said that she anticipates a shortage of employees in the sector in the coming years as a result of the pandemic. “Their opportunities have evaporated… it's going to become very difficult to encourage people to come into the business,” she said. Gideon Arthurs, the outgoing CEO of the National Theatre School in Montreal, Que., said it was important for both institutions and governments to focus on ways to support individual artists.

Senator Marilou McPhedran says she launched an inquiry on the Senate’s ethics and conflict of interest code to promote greater transparency in the way the Upper Chamber governs itself. McPhedran initiated an inquiry on March 22, seeking to call the attention of the Senate to “parliamentary privilege, the Ethics and Conflict of Interest Code for Senators and options for increasing accountability, transparency and fairness in the context of the Senate’s unique self-governance, including guidelines on public disclosure.”

Bridget Howe has joined Crestview Strategy as a senior consultant. Howe joined Crestview’s Ottawa office on April 25, having previously worked at Counsel Public Affairs between January 2020 and April 2022, most recently as an account director. She told The Lobby Monitor in a phone interview on May 5 that she hoped to build on her areas of specialization, such as health, education, and broadcasting, while also exploring new subjects at Crestview.

Trans Canada Trail posted eight of the 120 communication reports submitted to the federal lobbyists’ registry last week. Represented on the registry by president and CEO Eleanor McMahon and consultant Kim Wright of Wright Strategies, the Trans Canada Trail organization co-ordinates the construction, promotion, and maintenance of the 28,000-kilometre network of the same name. The organization communicated with Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault on March 23; Helena Jaczek, minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, on March 8; Rachel Bendayan, Boissonnault’s parliamentary secretary, on March 1; and Terry Beech, parliamentary secretary to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, on March 8.

In new registrations, Robotics Centre Inc. has hired Hill+Knowlton Strategies consultant Andy Singh, who registered on April 25, to represent the company in discussions with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Global Affairs, National Defence, Innovation, and Public Services and Procurement. According to its file, Robotics Centre wants to promote its “Canadian-made unmanned aerial system solutions to the Canadian government in support of Canada’s drive to provide assistance to Ukraine.”

Also new to the registry is Voltari Marine Electric, a Merrickville, Ont.-based recreational electric boat designer. The company, founded by former Steam Whistle Brewing CEO Cam Heaps in 2021, started its first file on April 25 with consultant Geoff Turner of Bluesky Strategy Group. Turner’s colleague, Raphael Brass, joined the file on May 3. According to its file, Voltari is interested in discussing the federal government’s proposed luxury tax for boats priced at $250,000 or more, as well as the potential “for market impact to innovative zero-emissions marine craft relative to traditional fossil-fuel powered competitors.” Turner and Brass plan to communicate with 16 government institutions, including the PMO, Finance, Innovation, Fisheries, Environment, and Rural Economic Development, as well as with MPs and senators.

Innovation and diversity organization Groupe 3737 started its first file on April 25 with Will Adams, an independent consultant. The organization is seeking federal funding for its programs, according to its registry file, to ensure that BIPOC entrepreneurs and business owners “are able to achieve their business goals.” The file states that Groupe 3737 received $1.21 million from Innovation, and $86,000 from Employment, during the last financial year. In addition to Employment, Adams plans to communicate with the PMO, Heritage, and MPs.

New registry files

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on May 6 at 9:08 a.m. ET

New registrations

Reactivations