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

Finance was the most popular subject discussed on the Hill as 2019 came to an end, according to communication reports posted on the federal lobbyists’ registry between Dec. 30 and Jan. 5.

Groups interested in discussing finance were Equitable Bank and Servus Credit Union.

Equitable Bank, which provides mortgages, commercial lending and deposit services, posted four communication reports in that time frame. The bank is registered in-house with its president and CEO, Andrew Moore. It is interested in discussing the framework for consumer protection under the Bank Act, according to the registry.

Servus is registered with its president and CEO, Garth Warner. The credit union would also like to discuss the Bank Act, but more specifically, it would like to talk about the provisions for federal credit unions.

Democracy Watch sent a letter on Tuesday urging Lobbying Commissioner Nancy Bélanger to issue a ruling on a matter it brought to the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying (OCL) in 2017 concerning two former election campaign staffers to Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Duff Conacher, the founder of Democracy Watch, has raised concerns that Benjamin Bergen and Dana O’Born, who currently hold staff positions with the Canadian Council of Innovators (CCI), could hold a conflict of interest, as defined by the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct because of their history working on Freeland’s election campaign in 2015.

Bergen, CCI’s executive director, previously served in a management role on Freeland’s election campaign. O’Born, CCI’s director of strategic initiatives, served as a campaign manager for Freeland.

Conacher is calling the OCL negligent for not having issued a ruling in the two years since Democracy Watch initially brought the matter to the office’s attention.

Vaping industry representatives don’t anticipate a negative impact to their lobbying efforts at the federal level, despite a growing negative perception of vaping among the general public, and a recent report of vaping-associated illness from Alberta.

Darryl Tempest, the executive director of the Canadian Vaping Association, argued that there are different kinds of vaping. He said that the regulated, water-soluble e-liquid variety has not been linked to lung illness, the way illicit THC and oil-based vitamin e-oils have been.

The number of Canadians who view vaping as doing more harm than good has reached 62 per cent, according to a recent study by the Angus Reid Institute.

Daniel David, the president of the Vaping Industry Trade Association, is concerned about a negative perception of vaping hampering the industries’ lobbying efforts at the provincial level. As an example, he cited how Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said that vaping industry lobbyists shouldn’t bother to contact him, as reported by CBC News in October.

Global Public Affairs will include a focus on space policy for the first time, as part of its new innovation and emerging industries practice.

Rod Elliot, a vice-president at the firm’s Toronto office, is leading the practice. The firm views space as a sector poised for growth in private sector innovation, in part because of Canada’s involvement in the development of a space station orbiting the moon. This project was announced in February  2019.

The innovation and emerging industries practice will also encompass files related to artificial intelligence, technology and fintech companies, and cannabis.

In new registrations, two registry files related to the environment were posted to the federal lobbyists’ registry this week. West Coast Reduction started its first file on Jan. 8 with consultant Braden Jones of FleishmanHillard HighRoad. The company, which recycles food waste by turning it into animal feed and renewable energy, would like to discuss its role in trade and economic development with the federal government. Jones will communicate with Environment, Innovation, Global Affairs, Agriculture and Agri-Food, as well as senators and MPs.

Also with an environmental angle, the Pacheedaht First Nation in British Columbia started a file on Nov. 8, which was posted on Jan. 7. The file lists consultant Eric Denhoff of E.A. Denhoff and Associates.

The First Nations group would like to speak with the federal government about negotiations with the Canadian Coast Guard, in regards to a proposed marine safety centre to be located in Pacheedaht traditional territory, according to the registry.

Denhoff will communicate with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development continued as the most popular government institution targeted by lobbyists, based on the new registry files posted between Jan. 6 and Jan. 10. Innovation was listed in four of the 13 new registry files posted in that time frame, and currently is listed as a lobbying target in more than 2,400 active files on the registry.
 

New registry files posted between 2020-01-06 and 2020-01-10

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on Jan. 10 at 9:00 a.m.
 

Reactivations posted between 2020-01-06 and 2020-01-10