Here’s a run down of the news we covered this week:

The House ethics committee released a report on June 10 calling for sweeping reforms to Canada’s lobbying and ethics regimes in response to the WE Charity scandal. The report recommends the removal of the “20 per cent rule” from the Lobbying Act, and implementing mandatory evaluations to determine if a conflict of interest screen is necessary prior to all cabinet decisions on awarding contracts or contribution agreements. Committee members from the three main opposition parties signed off on the report. In a dissenting report, the Liberal committee members accused the opposition MPs of using tactics that stalled the completion of the committee’s study on the events surrounding the WE Charity scandal.

Bryan Detchou, a former adviser in the office of the Usher of the Black Rod, has joined Crestview Strategy’s Ottawa office as a consultant. Detchou’s experience with Canada’s Senate also includes serving as a special assistant to PSG Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard. He started on the Hill in 2013 as part of the House’s page program, and later became an administrative assistant in the office of Conservative MP Andrew Scheer, when Scheer was House speaker.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) conducted its annual conference and trade show this week, during which Joanne Vanderheyden, mayor of Strathroy-Caradoc, Ont., was elected president of the organization. Municipalities have faced “extraordinary challenges” during the last year of the COVID-19 pandemic, but much work still lays ahead, according to Vanderheyden. The FCM’s specific advocacy objectives for the remainder of 2021 will be determined in the coming weeks by the FCM’s executive committee, she said.

The Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (EPAC), active on the registry with its president Tristan Goodman, contributed 10 of the 191 communication reports filed last week on the federal lobbyists’ registry. The EPAC communicated with Nada Vrany, the director general of Natural Resources on May 3 and May 31, and with Amin Asadollahi, Natural Resources’ manager of the Emissions Reductions Fund on May 13 and May 20. In tourism and transportation advocacy, Motor Coach Canada (MCC) filed nine communication reports last week. The MCC is represented on the registry by its president, Vince Accardi, and by consultant Benjamin Howe of Impact Public Affairs.

In new registrations, the Responsible Gambling Council of Canada (RGC) started its first registry file with its CEO Shelley White on Feb. 23. The file was posted on the registry on June 7. The council is interested in discussing Bill C-218, the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act, the registry shows. The bill, on its way to third reading in the Senate, seeks to amend the Criminal Code in order to legalize single-game sports betting in Canada. The RGC supports the bill, but would like to discuss the regulatory framework that would be implemented in the provinces if the bill were to receive royal assent. White will communicate with Justice Canada, and with senators.

Fix the Mask, a U.S. company that produces braces intended to be worn over the top of face masks, started its first file on June 4 with consultant Kait LaForce of Summa Strategies. The company would like to introduce its product to the federal government and the Canadian marketplace, the registry shows. LaForce will communicate with Health, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and with Public Services and Procurement Canada.

Pharmaceutical company Pharmascience strengthened its registry file by adding Crestview Strategy consultant Muhammad Ali on June 7. Ali joins three Crestview consultants on the file, including Chad Rogers and Patricia Sibal. Also active on the file is David Goodman, Pharmascience’s CEO. The company is interested in discussing international trade agreements and trade diversification policies related to the export of pharmaceutical products, according to the registry. Ali will communicate with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Privy Council Office, Innovation, Health, Finance, Export Development Canada, and with MPs.
 

New registry files

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on June 11 at 10:00 a.m. ET
 

New registrations

Reactivations