Telus leads in end-of-summer lobbying activity

Telus Corp. was far and away the busiest industry stakeholder when it came to reportable lobbying activity with the federal government last month, filing a total of 16 communication reports in August — twice as many as lobbying runner-up Rogers Communications Inc. Twelve of Telus’ reports were filed under CEO Darren Entwistle’s registration, indicating communication about telecommunications with Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada staff, such as assistant deputy minister Eric Dagenais and director general Susan Hart, as well as Infrastructure Canada’s director of parliamentary affairs Mike Burton and Veterans Affairs Canada policy staff. Telus also reached out to regional staffers in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and Public Services and Procurement, as well as outgoing ISED associate deputy minister Kelly Gillis. The remaining four reports were filed by Hill + Knowlton Strategies consultants —two by Don Boudria on industry, infrastructure and telecommunications with a trio of PMO policy advisors and Liberal MP Mike Bossio; one by Elizabeth Roscoe on broadcasting with Heritage’s acting assistant deputy minister Helen Kennedy; and another by Kevin Bosch with ISED policy advisor Parvinder Sachdeva on industry and telecommunications. Rogers filed eight reports in the dog days of summer — such as it was, in Ottawa — on broadcasting, international trade, employment and training, industry, arts and culture and intellectual property. It had communication with a broad range of people, such as Canadian Heritage’s director of parliamentary affairs Ben Carr, Global Affairs Canada’s advisor on stakeholder relations Jillian White, CRTC acting chief consumer officer Scott Shortliffe, ISED’s Dagenais and Heritage deputy minister Graham Flack. Telus did not respond to a request for comment on its August lobbying activity. BCE Inc. filed three reports with MP Judy Foote — who, at the time of the Aug. 11 communication, was still Public Services and Procurement Minister (though still on leave) — as well as Heritage deputy minister Flack and associate deputy minister Guylaine Roy and senior advisor Soraya Martinez on telecommunications and broadcasting. Crestview Strategy consultant Joanna Carey filed three reports on behalf of the Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters about industry and arts and culture with Liberal Toronto-area MPs Adam Vaughan and Julie Dabrusin, as well as Heritage staffers. Corus Entertainment Inc. filed two reports on the topics of broadcasting and health with Brian Kauffman, senior policy advisor to the minister of health, and Flack. Alphabet Inc.’s Google Canada filed two reports under the registration of Summa Strategies consultant Lindsay Doyle on taxation and finance with Finance Canada’s deputy director of policy Ian Foucher and chief of payments policy and financial sector policy Hugues Vaillancourt. Doyle’s registration, active for Google since June 2016, notes that she is authorized to communicate with the federal government to help arrange meetings for Google to “discuss Canadian privacy policy with respect to internet safety and data protection,” along with the “implications of Canada’s Copyright Act and Competition Act with respect to Google’s business interests; Canada’s digital economy strategy and science, technology and innovation policies; and Canadian broadcasting policy with regard to online content.” Xplornet Communications Inc. filed two reports with Liberal MPs Bossio and Karen McCrimmon on telecommunications while Shaw Communications Inc. also filed two reports on broadcasting and telecommunications with Heritage chief of staff Leslie Church and ISED policy director David McFarlane. Shaw recently added consultant Richard Mahoney of McMillan Vantage Policy Group to its consultant roster, joining three other consultant lobbyists from Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP and Earnscliffe Strategy Group. Mahoney’s registration, active as of Sept. 1, indicates, among many other things, that he’ll be communicating with departments such as Canadian Heritage, the CRTC, ISED, the Competition Bureau and Justice Canada regarding the upcoming review of the Telecommunications and Broadcasting and Copyright Acts, as well as “pending Public Safety legislation and/or cybersecurity legislation with respect to potential impact on privacy and operations of broadcasting distribution undertakings, internet service providers and wireless telecommunications carriers.” Finally, TekSavvy Solutions Inc. filed one report with Gayle Alexander Associates consultant Ian Connerty, who communicated with ISED policy advisor Parvinder Sachdeva on telecommunications. Overall, telecommunications was raised in 21 communication reports, a 41.7-per-cent decline from July, while broadcasting was brought up in 14 reports, the same as in July. — With reporting by Charelle Evelyn at cevelyn@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Telus leads in end-of-summer lobbying activity

Broadcast | September 25, 2017

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Telus leads in end-of-summer lobbying activity

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