Here’s the news we covered this week:

Konrad Winrich von Finckenstein has been appointed as the interim Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. As of Aug. 31, Finckenstein, who has previously held the position of CEO and chairman for the CRTC, has been appointed as interim commissioner for six months. The role had previously been vacant since April 19, when Martine Richard stepped down from her role, due to the opposition’s concerns of a potential conflict of interest based on her familial ties to Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

The Lobby Monitor spoke with representatives from Environmental Defence Canada, who recently ran a series of advertisements advocating for the federal government to enact a greenhouse gas emissions cap on the oil and gas industry. “We want the government to act quickly with the urgency [that] the climate crisis demands of us,” said Emilia Belliveau, EDC’s program manager for energy transition, adding that the government should “implement robust climate policies, including the emissions cap [and] ending fossil fuel subsidies.”

In this week’s On Queen Street, The Lobby Monitor spoke with Anita Zaenker who recently joined Earnscliffe Strategy. Zaenker’s new job has her working on municipal policy – an area she knows well after nearly four years as chief of staff to Kennedy Stewart, Vancouver’s previous mayor (and a former NDP MP).

In weekly communication reports, the Huu-ay-aht First Nation submitted the highest number of communications – 10 – to the federal lobbyists’ registry of the total 72 reports submitted last week. The First Nation government is represented by Dan Lovell, consultant at Sussex Strategy Group. Lovell’s registry file states that the Huu-ay-aht First Nation is seeking government support “towards the First Nation's acquisition of a company.”

In this week’s registrations, Accelerate joined the federal lobbyists’ registry for the first time. 

The organization is an industrial alliance with the goal of creating a “world-class” zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) industry in Canada. Matthew Campbell, a consultant with Temple Scott Associates Inc., is representing the organization’s file.

Also joining the registry for the first time is Payward Inc., which is represented by Fernando Minna of The Capital Hill Group. The consultant will engage officials on the growth of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, according to his registry file. Payward Inc. is based in California, U.S., and it operates the Kraken crypto trading platform. 

In new registrations, ChargePoint has added a Counsel Public Affairs Inc. consultant, Elizabeth Campbell, to represent it on the registry. The consultant will discuss policy and regulations related to ZEV infrastructure, including policy recommendations such as including EV infrastructure in updates to the National Building Code, and building highways with built-in EV infrastructure to support the growth of the industry.

Note that The Lobby Monitor will not publish on Monday, Sept. 4. We will return on Tuesday, Sept. 5, have a great weekend!

New Registry

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on September 1, at 9:08 a.m. ET.

New Registration

Reactivation