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

Kema Joseph, a former adviser of stakeholder relations and outreach to Toronto Mayor John Tory, has joined Crestview Strategy as a GR Consultant. Joseph’s work in Tory’s office involved collaborating with Toronto citizens throughout Pride Month, with members of the Black Lives Matter movement, and participants in the city’s annual Caribbean Carnival. She considers herself to be “champion of diversity, equity and inclusion,” which is the lens she is hoping to apply in working with her clients at Crestview.

Federal Lobbying Commissioner Nancy Bélanger said it will be interesting to see if lobbying activity takes a dip this summer, considering last summer’s lobbying activity was unusually high because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lobbying activity tends to experience seasonal fluctuations, with a drop in lobbying in the summer. Despite this trend, June, July, and August 2020 all set new records in total lobbying activity. The heightened lobbying activity has not slowed down in 2021, with this past March and April setting new records in filed communication reports for those months.

AbCellera Biologics, a B.C. biotechnology company, contributed 28 of the 250 communication reports posted last week on the federal lobbyists’ registry. Three of the company’s reports reflected lobbying activity in April, including communication on April 8 with Minister of Environment Jonathan Wilkinson. The majority of the remaining reports were backlogged from last year, with the oldest report dating back to a communication that took place on April 10, 2020. Pfizer Canada ULC posted seven communication reports last week. The company communicated with Minister of Public Services and Procurement Anita Anand on April 7, April 15 and April 22, as well as with Minister of Innovation François-Philippe Champagne on April 29. The communications related to the roll-out of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, and biomanufacturing capabilities in the life sciences sector, according to Christina Antoniou, Pfizer Canada’s director of corporate affairs in an email to The Lobby Monitor.

In new registrations, the Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) started a file on May 3 with interim CEO Barbara Miller. The network is interested in discussing the possibility of the federal government developing a multi-year funding agreement to support CFIN’s efforts to grow the food and beverage industry in Canada, according to the registry. The organization was active on the registry beginning in July 2020 under its former name, the Canadian Food Innovators, but announced its rebranding as the Canadian Food Innovation Network in a May 5 press release, with a formal launch planned for September.

IBM Ocean Canada started its first file on May 4 with consultant David Angus of the Capital Hill Group. The organization is interested in discussing Canada’s Digital Operations Strategic Plan, the federal government’s strategic plan for the adoption of digital services. Angus will communicate with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Canada Revenue Agency, Finance, Innovation, Canadian Heritage, Natural Resources, and MPs.

ZEN Graphene Solutions, a graphene-based technology company in Ontario, started its first file on May 17 with consultants Dan Pfeffer, Kate Mah and James Anderson of Public Affairs Advisors. The company’s objective is to discuss a fuel additive intended to reduce emissions and increase performance, the registry shows. ZEN Graphene Solutions is also developing an antimicrobial graphene coating that can be used on face masks, with the goal of producing enough coating for the equivalent of 32 million masks by the end of June. The Public Affairs Advisors consultants will communicate with Innovation, Finance, Environment, Natural Resources Canada, MPs and senators.
 

New registry files

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on May 28 at 9:00 a.m. ET

New registrations

Reactivations