Here’s the news we covered this week:

Universities Canada’s Graham Barber told The Lobby Monitor that the federal government’s new temporary cap on international student permits is a “drastic and reactionary measure.” Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced on Jan. 22 that the number of applications approved by his department would drop to 360,000 (a reduction of 35 per cent from the 2023 figure) in 2024 and 2025. The decision was made in the context of Canada’s housing shortage. Colleges and Institutes Canada’s Michael McDonald and Homeward Public Affairs’ Jacob Gorenkoff (who specializes in housing policy) also weighed in on the news.

Continuing our 2023 series of quarterly lobbying reviews, The Lobby Monitor looked into communication reports for last year’s final quarter to determine which groups were most active in connecting with decision-makers. The top spot goes to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, which submitted 106 of the 10,079 reports posted to the registry in Q4. Attribute the flurry of lobbying to a Hill week the organization held in November, when representatives met with multiple ministers including Housing Minister Sean Fraser and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

Also on housing, we spoke with Jacob Gorenkoff who recently launched his niche consulting company, Homeward Public Affairs, to address the industry’s lack of consultants that “understand both government relations and housing,” he said. Gorenkoff previously worked in GR at the Canadian Real Estate Association and the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association. “I wanted to help fill that niche because the housing crisis is growing,” Gorenkoff said of his decision to start his own company. “Being able to come up with solutions that can help fix the problem and [then] navigate government is going to be instrumental in actually coming to an end of this crisis.”

In weekly communication reports, Pembina Pipeline Corporation’s 20 communication reports were the highest number of reports submitted to the federal lobbying registry during the week of Jan. 15. A total of 1,275 reports were submitted that week. The company is represented on the registry by its president and CEO Scott Burrows; and Tim Barber and Geoff Turner, both of Bluesky Strategy Group. Pembina did not reply to a Lobby Monitor request for more information regarding the lobbying that led to those communication reports. The registry files for the three lobbyists indicate that they want to discuss issues relevant to the company’s operations including climate policy and the competitiveness of Canada’s energy sector.

In new registry files this past week is a new coalition whose members provide benefits plans to approximately 65,000 employers and 4,800 union plans across the country. Representing the Smart Health Benefits Coalition on the registry is Jordan Paquet, Manuela Boeira, and Geoff Turner of Bluesky Strategy Group. The consultants’ files indicate that the group (which has not yet formally launched publicly) wants to discuss the federal government’s promised pharmacare legislation.

Also new to the registry is SWTCH Energy Inc., which is being represented by its CEO Carter Li. The company, which specializes in installing and maintaining charging stations for electric vehicles (EV), wants to discuss policy recommendations regarding the installation of EV infrastructure, specifically in multi-tenant properties, states Li’s file.

Bolstering its representation on the Hill is GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC, which has hired Wil Robertson of StrategyCorp Inc. to discuss the benefits of small modular reactors. The company has seven other StrategyCorp consultants working on its behalf including Andrew Steele, Allyson Grant, and John Penner.

With that, we come to the final weekend before MPs officially return to the Hill for the winter 2024 sitting. As is Lobby Monitor practice, we publish our Morning Brief four times a week when Parliament is sitting so you can expect to see our newsletter in your inbox first thing on Mon. Jan. 29. Have a great weekend!

New Registry

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on Jan. 26 at 8:48 a.m. ET.

New Registration

Reactivation

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on Jan. 26 at 8:48 a.m. ET.

New Registration

Reactivation