Here’s a look back at what made news on The Lobby Monitor this week:

We started with our weekly view at communication reports and who was most active in talking up parliamentarians. Based on communication reports submitted between Feb. 24 and March 1, Mortgage Professionals Canada holds the title for the most vocal organization. During that period, they submitted 50 reports. The majority of those reports are based on meetings held during the group’s lobby days on Feb. 19 and 20. Topics discussed during those days include the mortgage stress test and the needs of first-time homebuyers. 

For On Queen Street, we spoke to Sussex Strategy Group’s newest consultant, Paul Tye. Before joining Sussex, Tye’s entrepreneurial spirit had him leading his own independent consulting company. He spoke to The Lobby Monitor about how his family shaped that spirit and how starting out as an independent provided him with a “good crash course in business.” 

In other staffing news, Crestview Strategy announced that its consultants, Sarina Rehal and Dan Moulton, each now hold the title of vice-president. Rehal joined the lobbying firm in 2016, while Moulton became a team member the following year. 

On Feb. 24, the Liberal government introduced Bill C-7, an Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying). The new bill is this government’s attempt to right the issues recently deemed unconstitutional by a Quebec court regarding current legislation on medical assistance in dying. With a new bill comes a new opportunity for stakeholders to have their say on this issue. Jim Cowan, a former Canadian senator and chair of Dying with Dignity’s board of directors, says consultants and organizations should look to present personal stories about how this bill, and the issue overall, affects people.

The Lobby Monitor also published an insider’s guide to lobbying on health. A minority Parliament is an opportunity for stakeholders to present priorities that might benefit from collaboration among MPs of different political stripes. We spoke to consultants who were previously employed with each of the four political parties holding the most House seats - Liberal, Conservative, Bloc Québécois and NDP - for their view on which health issues are most likely to appeal to each party. 

And in this week’s new registrations, health and energy interests brought new files from four different organizations. Among those groups are the Canadian Paediatric Society, which wants to speak to parliamentarians about improving access to paediatric medicines. The organization is being represented on the file by its executive director Marie Adèle Davis. 

NuScale Power LLC also joined the registry for the first time. The company hired Devin McCarthy of Sussex Strategy Group to talk to staffers from Innovation, Natural Resources Canada and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. NuScale wants to raise awareness of its small modular reactors (SMR).

This type of technology is a way to generate electricity without emitting greenhouse gases.   

New registry files for March 2 to March 5, 2020

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on March 5, at 8:30 a.m.

New registrations

Reactivations