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

The federal ethics office released a report on Nov. 19 recommending that the House require Liberal MP James Maloney to apologize for not completing a necessary disclosure summary of his private interests within a reasonable amount of time. Maloney was re-elected in October 2019, and was required to disclose his private interests, and those of his family, within 60 days after notice of his election was published in the Canada Gazette. Maloney submitted a disclosure summary in January, but the ethics office found that it was missing information. The process was completed in September. In a statement posted on Twitter, Maloney said it was not his intention to withhold information, and he intended to offer an apology to the House soon.

Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic has freed up more time in the day to complete tasks or spend with family because of the lack of a daily commute, according to Jaskaran Singh Sandhu, a senior consultant at Crestview Strategy. The lack of commuting was also identified as a possible silver lining to working from home by Andrew House, a counsel at law firm Fasken, who spoke during the first day of the Public Affairs Association of Canada’s (PAAC) annual conference. The theme of this year’s virtual conference, held between Nov. 16 and Nov. 19 was public affairs during a “time of sustained urgency and change.”

Discussions related to economic development dominated federal lobbying in October, maintaining a trend from the last six months. Economic development was the subject in 479 communication reports last month. Following the subject of economic development in October were “industry” (appearing in 399 reports), “health” (386), and “environment” (362). Budget-related lobbying also climbed in October, with “budget” listed as the subject in 228 that month compared to 208 in September.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC) was the most active lobbying organization last week, and filed 31 communication reports out of a total of 1,055. The CCC’s reports reflected contact with designated public office holders between Oct. 1 and Oct. 29, including communications that occurred during its annual general meeting (AGM), held virtually on Oct. 26 and Oct. 27. The AGM included a virtual fireside chat between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Perrin Beatty, the CCC’s president and CEO, on Oct. 26. Following the CCC in terms of posted communication reports was the Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA), which posted 28 communication reports last week.

In new registrations, The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) started its first file on the federal lobbyists’ registry on Nov. 13 with consultant Sean Casey of Global Public Affairs. Casey’s colleagues, Andrea Beltran and Tara Mazurk, were added on Nov. 16. TIFF is interested in discussing the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and other federal government programs that may assist cultural organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the registry. The three consultants will communicate with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Finance, Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts, MPs and senators.

The Stratford Shakespearean Festival of Canada started a new file on Nov. 1 with in-house representation by Anita Gaffney, Stratford’s executive director. The organization is reaching out to the federal government to discuss COVID-19 recovery funding, including funds to keep the organization viable, according to the registry. Gaffney will communicate with the PMO, Infrastructure, Finance, Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

Poppy Health, a company based in Toronto, started its first file on the registry on Nov. 5 with consultant Jim Karygiannis of GTA Strategies. Karygiannis is a former Liberal MP and former Toronto city councillor, who retired from politics on Sept. 24. Poppy Health would like to speak with the federal government about its product, “the Poppy,” intended to detect pathogens, the registry shows. Karygiannis will communicate with MPs.
 

New registry files

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on Nov. 20 at 10:30 a.m.
 

New registrations

Reactivations