Here’s what made Lobby Monitor news this week as 2020 draws to a close:

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an immeasurable impact on people’s daily lives and work, and the lobbying industry is no exception. Multiple senior lobbyists told The Lobby Monitor that they expect there to be less emphasis on in-person meetings in Ottawa with federal officials in a post-pandemic world. 

“Will there still be face-to-face meetings, will there be receptions? Absolutely. That's the cadence of Ottawa. It's no longer going to exclusively be that,” said Will Stewart, senior vice-president and national lead of public affairs and advocacy at Hill+Knowlton Strategies, to The Lobby Monitor.

Read more thoughts on how COVID-19 has changed lobbying from Susan Smith, co-founder and principal at Bluesky Strategy; Philip Cartwright, a senior vice-president and lead of the transportation team at Global Public Affairs; and Jacquie LaRocque, co-founder and principal of Compass Rose. 

Crestview Strategy’s team has grown with the addition of Maailah Blackwood, previously a political staffer within the Progressive Conservative government of Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and Desiree Godin, who also has Conservative connections. Godin’s federal experience comes from working with Conservative Senator Dennis Patterson, and helping with the campaign of the Conservative Party prior to the election in October 2019. 

The year ends with a look at November’s most active lobbyists, with the top communication report holder being the Canadian Canola Growers Association, who submitted 88 reports. A key subject of discussion was the federal government’s AgriStability program, which the association and other agri-food groups have been wanting to see changed. 

In second place was the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), with 79 reports during November. The federation has been engaging federal officials on ways to keep municipalities stable during COVID-19 and ready to drive a green economic recovery when the time comes, according to a statement to The Lobby Monitor from Garth Frizzell, president of the FCM. 

The FCM took the top spot when it came to the number of submitted communication reports between Dec. 7 and Dec 13, 2020. Nearly all (78) of their 79 reports for November were posted that week. They marked the month with communications with multiple ministers including Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, and Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna. 

And in new registry files, Siemens Healthcare Limited has registered to lobby with Sevket On, its vice-president and general manager for Canada. That file was created on Dec. 4. The company is behind a COVID-19 rapid testing kit that was approved by Health Canada on July 23. The file states that Siemens Healthcare Limited wants to discuss the supply of testing solutions with federal officials, including those in Health Canada and Innovation. 

In new COVID-19-related registrations, Google Cloud Canada Corporation has tasked Brian Klunder of Temple Scott Associates to discuss programs and policies related to the federal government's pandemic response. Klunder expects to speak with officials from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Privy Council Office (PCO), and Public Services and Procurement.    

Crestview Strategy’s Ashton Arsenault registered to lobby on behalf of Corus Entertainment Inc. on Dec. 14. On the COVID-19 front, Arsenault wants to discuss the financial impacts of the pandemic and potential government responses, with lobby targets including the PMO, PCO and Finance. 

The Lobby Monitor team would like to inform you that this is our last publishing day for 2020, with new stories set to return on Jan. 4. Until then, thank you for your continued support and we hope that you and your loved ones have a happy and safe holiday! 

New on the registry between Dec. 14 and Dec. 18, 2020

New registry files

New registrations

Reactivations