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

The University of Saskatchewan (U of S) was the most active lobby group on Parliament Hill in September with 19 communication reports filed. U of S is represented on the federal lobbyists’ registry by its president and vice-chancellor Peter Stoicheff. It has many discussion topics listed on its file, including requests for federal funding to support infrastructure projects, internships and research and development.

September reached a new low in the overall amount of federal lobbying activity with 422 communication reports filed that month. The most lobbied government institution in September was Global Affairs, which was listed in 48 communication reports.

Omar Khan has become the new national cannabis sector lead at Hill+Knowlton Strategies, taking over from Ivan Ross Vrána. Khan moved into the role from his former position with the firm as its vice-president of marketing and business development. He talked to The Lobby Monitor about how building a brand presence is becoming a higher priority in the cannabis sector, compared to the early days in the industry when cultivation and production was the priority.

Vrána is still working for Hill+Knowlton as an associate, but he is also currently the vice-president of government relations and business development for Eve & Co., a cannabis company in southwestern Ontario.

A look at the communication reports posted on the federal lobbyists’ registry between Oct. 1 and Oct. 15 showed the single most active group was Humanity & Inclusion (HI) Canada, which posted 14. HI Canada is represented on the Hill by Jérôme Bobin, the organization’s general manager. 

The organization issued a call in September for Canadians to mobilize in urging federal party leaders to take action to prevent the bombing of civilians in armed conflict situations. This was in advance of an international conference held Oct. 1 and Oct. 2 in Vienna, Austria to address that topic.

In new registrations, the Internet Society of Canada Chapter (ISCC) started its first file on the registry Oct. 11 to discuss a cybersecurity project it has proposed to address the security challenges of the internet of things (IoT).

IoT is the concept of connecting everyday objects to the internet so they can send and receive data. The ISCC would like to discuss best practices to protect IoT devices from security threats.

The file was started with Jeremy Depow, a special adviser to the organization. Franca Palazzo, ISCC’s executive director, was added on Oct. 15.

Depow and Palazzo will communicate with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Public Safety Canada, National Defence, Innovation, and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

The North Saskatoon Business Association (NSBA) is new on the registry with a file started Sept. 30 with its executive director Keith Moen. The NSBA, which represents more than 700 businesses in Saskatoon, Sask., is interested in speaking to the federal government about its opposition to the federal carbon tax. The organization is also interested in offering suggestions for next year’s federal budget, according to the registry.

Moen will communicate with the PMO, senators and MPs.

Equal Voice has increased its representation on the Hill by adding consultant Nicholas Schiavo of Impact Public Affairs to its file on Sept. 25.

Schiavo joins his colleague Catherine Fortin LeFaivre on the file.

Equal Voice is an organization that attempts to facilitate the greater inclusion of women in the political world. It is interested in speaking to MPs, senators, and officials from the department of Women and Gender Equality about the issues surrounding women’s involvement in politics, according to the registry.
 

New registry files posted between 2019-10-14 and 2019-10-18

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on Oct. 18 at 9:00 a.m.
 

New registrations posted between 2019-10-14 and 2019-10-18

Reactivations posted between 2019-10-14 and 2019-10-18