Telecom, broadcasting lobbying hits July lag

July lobbying activity was affected by the expected summer slowdown that comes with Parliament not sitting and politicians being spread out across the country in their ridings — but that didn’t mean groups weren’t active. On Monday, Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly announced the government was sending back the controversial licence renewal decision the CRTC issued in May, prompting those who had been calling for its reversal to celebrate what they saw as a victory stemming from weeks of advocacy. “This is a real victory for the thousands of Canadians who stepped up and spoke out to defend Canadian storytelling,” Stephen Waddell, national executive director of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), said in a press release. In a separate press release Tuesday, the Writers Guild of Canada said it had pointed out that the decision, which in part standardized spending requirements for programs of national interest (PNI) at five per cent of broadcasting revenues, “could lead to over $200 million in reduced broadcaster spending on Canadian shows over a five-year licence term, and to more talented Canadian screenwriters leaving the country for work elsewhere.” According to the federal lobbyists’ registry, the Writers Guild of Canada filed one report for a July 20 communication with MP Julie Dabrusin on arts and culture, broadcasting, industry, employment and training, and taxation and finance. Dabrusin wasn’t the only one targeted during July as the guild looked to gather support for its opposition to the CRTC’s licence renewal decision. The guild’s Twitter account showcased meetings with members of Parliament that specifically highlighted the CRTC discussion. These included fellow Toronto-area Liberals Julie Dzerowicz and Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, NDP leader Tom Mulcair, and NDP heritage critic Pierre Nantel. Communications only have to be logged with the office of the lobbying commissioner if the person making the communication is paid to do so. Those who lobby on a voluntary basis, such as individual guild members, aren’t required to register or report. The Writers Guild of Canada is registered in-house under president Jill Golick, policy director Neal McDougall and executive director Maureen Parker. When asked to comment on their members’ July efforts, guild spokeswoman Li Robbins said in an email that “while we’re extremely proud of our members’ efforts meeting with their MPs regarding the CRTC PNI decision, we’d prefer not to comment publicly on all the details at this point.” Overall, the topic of telecommunications featured in 35 communications reports in July, while broadcasting was raised in 13, a 44.4-per-cent and 60.6-per-cent decline from June, respectively. Amazon.com Inc. logged a combined 12 reports through president Brian Huseman’s registration and that of consultant Gordon Hunter, talking government procurement and industry with people such as Prime Minister’s Office deputy director of policy Justin To, the government’s chief information officer Alex Benay, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s chief information officer and vice-president Michel Lessard. BCE Inc. had nine communication reports in July on telecommunications matters ahead of the start of the first round of NAFTA talks, with heavy hitters like Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly. Bell also had communications with senior Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) and Heritage Canada staff. Telus Corp. logged eight total reports, communicating on consumer issues, infrastructure, telecommunications and health matters with Environment and Climate Change Canada policy advisor Adam Baylin-Stern, ISED chief of staff Elder Marques and other department officials, Health Canada deputy minister Simon Kennedy, and Public Services and Procurement Canada’s regional affairs manager for the west Courtney Keith. TekSavvy Solutions Inc.’s consultant Ian Connerty filed six reports on telecommunications for reaching out to ISED policy advisor Parvinder Sachdeva, regional economic development special assistant Daniel Grubb, and Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada’s policy and regional affairs advisor Emmaline English. The Canadian Independent Music Association filed two reports for July for communication with Heritage Canada policy advisor Elliot Lockington on international trade and arts and culture. Susan Smith, a consultant with Bluesky Strategy Group, registered on July 17 to lobby on behalf of Corridor Communications Inc. to talk to MPs and ISED about “spectrum access issues in Ontario with respect to overlap in the Windsor/Detroit area.” Smith reported a July 19 communication with ISED policy advisors and the assistant deputy minister, Fiona Gilfillan. The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association filed one report for a telecommunications communication with Marc-André Leclerc, deputy chief of staff for Opposition leader Andrew Scheer. OpenMedia also had a single communication on consumer issues and telecommunications with Krista Campbell, ISED director general in the data and digital programming branch, and director Cassandra Lang while the newly reactivated U.S. Television Coalition filed one report on broadcasting and international trade with Heritage chief of staff Leslie Church, Lockington, and Simon Beauchemin, the PMO’s advisor on Canada-U.S. relations. Rogers Communications Inc. also filed one report on taxation and finance with Canada Revenue Agency assistant commissioner Ted Gallivan and deputy assistant commissioner Lisa Anawati and Shaw Communications Inc. filed one on telecom with ISED director of policy David McFarlane, associate deputy minister Kelly Gillis, and assistant deputy minister Gilfillan. Finally, Xplornet Communications Inc. filed one report on telecommunications and industry for communication with a range of ISED officials, including deputy minister John Knubley, the acting director general in the spectrum and telecommunications sector Lynne Fancy, Communications Research Centre president Jean Luc Bérube, and acting director general for spectrum and governance planning Stuart Parley. — With reporting by Charelle Evelyn at cevelyn@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Telecom, broadcasting lobbying hits July lag

News | 08/16/2017 3:41 pm EDT

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