Busy summer of lobbying precedes federal election call

As rumours of a fall election swirled this summer, some of Canada’s biggest communications companies were busy lobbying senior government officials on a range of issues including hot-button items, such as copyright reform.The Canadian Association of Broadcasters, in particular, has been knocking on more Parliamentary doors than other lobbyists this summer. Records from the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada (OCLC) show that CAB executives met senior officials from the CRTC, Industry Canada, the Department of Canadian Heritage, seven times in July. In that month alone, CAB representatives met with CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein and secretary general Robert Morin twice. The topics discussed touched on broadcasting, telecommunications, copyright and governor-in-council appointments. The new lobbying act stipulates that meetings with senior government officials, now known as designated public office holders (DPOHs), must be reported to the OCLC and such information be made available to the public. However, the information is sparse in details. The CAB was closely followed by CanWest Global Communications Corp., whose executives met with top level officials, including Industry Minister Jim Prentice, three times to discuss broadcasting issues. Other companies from the broadcast sector who contacted government officials in the last two months include Corus Entertainment and Astral Media Inc. However, although the records show an increase in these companies’ lobbying activities, they may have to do more with changes in the lobby registry than with an impending election, says Tim Powers, VP, Summa Strategies Canada. “More of those changes came under the Accountability Act that came forward in July and I think as a consequence of that, the law has included more people who previously didn’t register to lobby,” says Powers. Powers, a registered lobbyist, who has taken a break in order to campaign for the Conservative Party, also says an increase in lobbying activity can be attributed to the government’s recently concluded spectrum auction. “It’s just natural for people who want to present a position to register so that they can present a position. I don’t think it really has too much to do with an election,” he says, adding that it shouldn’t be a surprise that OCLC records show CEOs representing their companies since the new rules say lobbying activity can now be registered under the most senior individual in a corporation. In essence, this also means that a CEO might or might not have met a senior government official, but whatever lobbying activity that took place on behalf of his or her company under an in-house lobbyist, it must be registered under the CEO’s name. The following list shows which communications companies met with DPOHs in the last two months. Canadian Association of Broadcasters July 2, 2008: CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein and secretary general Robert MorinJuly 3, 2008: Ron Parker, senior assistant deputy minister, Industry CanadaJuly 15, 2008: Judith LaRocque, deputy minister, Canadian Heritage and Jean-Pierre Blais, assistant deputy minister, cultural affairs, Canadian HeritageJuly 15, 2008: Phil Harwood, policy advisor, Canadian HeritageJuly 17, 2008: Rodney Macdonald, policy advisor, Canadian HeritageJuly 25, 2008: CRTC Chair Konrad von Finckenstein and Secretary General Robert MorinJuly 30, 2008: Wesley Moore, parliamentary secretary assistant, Industry CanadaTopics discussed: Broadcasting, telecommunications, copyright, governor-in-council appointments CanWest Global Communications July 9, 2008: Jim Prentice, minister of IndustryJuly 15, 2008: Robert Morin, secretary general, CRTCJuly 15, 2008: Stephen Kelly, senior policy advisor, Office of the Minister of IndustryTopics discussed: Broadcasting Corus Entertainment August 15, 2008: Scott Hutton, executive director, broadcasting, CRTC.Topics discussed: Media and broadcasting Astral Media Inc. July 22, 2008: Jean-Pierre Blais, assistant deputy minister, cultural affairs, Canadian Heritage.Topics discussed: Intellectual property and broadcastingRogers Communications Inc. July 9, 2008: Ron Parker, senior assistant deputy minister, Industry CanadaTopics discussed: Broadcasting, intellectual property, international trade, and telecommunications Shaw Communications Inc.July 9, 2008: Ron Parker, senior ATM, Strategic Policy Sector, Industry CanadaTopics discussed: Intellectual property and telecommunications Canadian Film and Television Production Association July 7, 2008: CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein and CRTC vice-chair of broadcasting Michel Arpin Topics discussed: Broadcasting SOCAN July 11, 2008: CEO CRTC Secretary General Robert MorinTopics discussed: Broadcasting, new media, and Canadian content Writers’ Guild of Canada July 17, 2008: Robert Morin, secretary general, CRTC.Topics discussed: Broadcasting

Busy summer of lobbying precedes federal election call

News | 09/08/2008 8:35 pm EDT

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