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

Supriya Dwivedi, former co-host of Global News Radio 640’s The Morning Show, has joined Enterprise Canada as a senior counsel. She will lobby, and provide strategic advice focusing on communications and media relations. Her political experience includes handling media requests and being a spokesperson for David Soknacki during his unsuccessful Toronto mayoral campaign in 2014. Dwivedi decided to join Enterprise because the firm has a culture where “folks are encouraged to work together,” she said.

The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) claims it was one of the most active lobbying organizations in February, but due to a filing error, did not submit the correct number of communication reports for the month. The CFS engaged in a lobbying week between Feb. 15 and Feb. 19, and communicated with public office holders including Minister of Environment Jonathan Wilkinson and Minister of Diversity and Youth Bardish Chagger on Feb. 16. Although the registry shows 11 reports, approximately 65 should have been submitted, according to Nicole Brayiannis, national deputy chair for the CFS. The organization which currently lists the most communication reports for February is Mortgage Professionals Canada (MPC), which  held an advocacy week between Feb. 22 and Feb. 26.

MPC filed 60 communication reports between March 8 and March 14, which list communications with 41 MPs during the organization’s advocacy week. Conversations focused on how federal policies and COVID-19 are impacting housing markets, and included recommendations to support first-time homebuyers in the upcoming federal budget. The MPC communicated with Minister of Fisheries Bernadette Jordan on Feb. 22, and with Green Party MP Elizabeth May, the party’s parliamentary leader, on Feb. 19.

WE Charity co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger appeared before the House ethics committee on March 15 during a committee probe related to possible conflicts of interest between the organization and the federal government. In an opening statement, Marc Kielburger said they are “taking a stand,” and that “this is a political scandal for the government, not for WE Charity.” NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus questioned why the Kielburgers are not registered as lobbyists on the federal lobbyists’ registry. Craig Kielburger said he and his brother are volunteers, and volunteers cannot legally register.

In new registrations, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) started its first file on March 1 and would like to discuss a communications outreach plan for the federal government’s 2019 election commitment to plant two billion trees, according to the registry. The organization has engaged former Liberal deputy prime minister Sheila Copps to represent it in federal lobbying. The $3.6-billion plan is to be carried out over the next 10 years. Copps will communicate with Natural Resources and Parks Canada.

The Women's Legal Education & Action Fund (LEAF) started its first file on March 3 with four consultants from Counsel Public Affairs, including Ben Parsons and Bridget Howe. The organization is interested in discussing how online harassment and technology-facilitated violence is addressed in the federal government’s Gender-Based Violence Strategy. The Counsel Public Affairs consultants will communicate with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Justice, Women and Gender Equality, Health, Finance, and with MPs.

Telecommunications company Rogers Communications strengthened its representation by adding consultant Daniel Moulton of Crestview Strategy to its file on March 12. The file also lists Rogers’s president and CEO Joe Natale; David Watt, the company’s retired senior vice-president; and Fasken lawyer Gerald Kerr-Wilson. The company is interested in communicating about the regulatory review of its proposed acquisition of Shaw Communications, the registry shows. Rogers announced intentions to buy Shaw for $26 billion on March 15, with the deal set to close in early 2022. Moulton will communicate with the PMO, Canadian Heritage, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Infrastructure, Finance, and with MPs and senators.
 

New registry files

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on March 19 at 11:00 a.m. ET

New registrations

Reactivations