Here’s the news we covered this week:

The Lobby Monitor spoke with George Christidis, vice-president of government relations and international affairs at the Canadian Nuclear Association, about growing awareness of the impact that the nuclear energy industry could have on environmental efforts. “With a lot of intensification in discussions with regards to meeting climate goals and energy security goals, the interest in nuclear [energy] has really increased,” he said. “As the Canadian government and the Canadian public is trying to reconcile how it attains those goals and what tools in the toolkit are needed to get there, nuclear technologies have definitely been recognized as being necessary to get to those goals.”

Speaking of work targeting climate change, Rubicon Strategy’s newest senior vice-president Daniel Levitan told The Lobby Monitor that he looks forward to leveraging his experience to help clients make “an even greater impact” on Canada’s transition towards a net-zero emissions economy. “Canada is in an incredible position right now,” said Levitan. “You've got mines pulling critical minerals and metals out of the ground; manufacturing is coming back; Indigenous economic participation is taking off; and that has ripples across all secondary service industries.”

The Hill Times’ annual top 100 lobbyists’ list was released this week featuring conversations with multiple lobbyists about how the lobbying environment is changing in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the upcoming federal election in 2025. “If you are currently sitting in an office saying, ‘Geez, the CPC may be in power soon. We need a Conservative plan,’ then the chances are, it's already too late,” said Jacquie LaRocque, founder of Compass Rose Group and a former Liberal staffer. “Whether it's a transition to a new CPC government or transition to a renewed or reimagined Liberal government, at the end of the day, the words and the approach that you use in building those policy solutions need to be palpable to everyone. If you haven't been doing that for some time … you're late to the discussion.”

In this week’s communication reports, the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) submitted the highest number of communication reports to the federal lobbyists’ registry in the week of March 4. The organization, which is represented by its president and CEO Michael Mueller, submitted 21 communication reports to the federal lobbyists’ registry. A total of 404 communications reports were submitted last week. The organization’s lobbying efforts focused on advocating for the development of a national aerospace strategy.

In this week’s registrations, Second Harvest, a charitable organization, has joined the federal lobbyists’ registry for the first time to engage officials on topics related to food loss and waste.

Representing the organization are Allyson Grant, Jonathan Ricci, and Lisa Samson of StrategyCorp Inc. Communications will focus on efforts to measure and monitor food waste and to eliminate “best before dates” on food packaging, according to the consultants’ registry files.

Also joining the registry for the first time is Power Nickel Inc., represented by Vanessa Lamarre of Sussex Strategy. Lamarre will advocate for federal funding to advance Power Nickel’s NISK project, according to her registry file. The project, located in Quebec, aims to excavate critical minerals needed for battery manufacturing including nickel, copper, cobalt, palladium, and platinum.

In new registrations, Nature United has hired Nicko Vavassis and Elizabeth Haarmann of Earnscliffe Strategies to engage government officials on programs and policies related to conservation efforts. The organization wants to communicate with officials about policies and programs that support Indigenous-led stewardship and education, and management policies related to landscape and marine area conservation and sustainable development, according to the consultants’ registry files. Nature United focuses its efforts on environmental preservation through partnerships, programs, and education.

New Registry

Based on a search of the federal lobbyists' registry on Mar. 15, at 8:55 a.m. E.T.

New Registration

Reactivation