Fertilizer Canada held a reception with Ottawa lawmakers Tuesday, drawing mix of lobbyists, policy pros, corporate representatives, Hill staffers and MPs to the event.

Lobby Monitor editorial intern Denis Ram was on hand with his camera to follow the scene. All photos by Ram.

The bustling reception at the Metropolitan Brasserie was packed with individuals representing various political parties, advocacy groups and corporations.

General topics in the air touched on trade and interprovincial relations.

The Metropolitan Brasserie was filled with parliamentarians and lobbyists representing a variety of groups on April 19.

MPs spotted at the event included Liberal MP T.J. Harvey, Bloc MP Louis Plamondon and Conservative MPs Marilyn Gladu and Robert Kitchen.

Bloc MP Louis Plamondon (left) and Benoit Violette (right), a staffer from Conservative MP Kellie Leitch’s office, pose for a photo.

Rookie MP Liberal T.J. Harvey (right), pictured with Dennis Prouse (left), vice president of government affairs at Crop Life Canada, were mingling with the crowd at the event. Many got a chance to introduce themselves to the new MP.

The large group of attendees at the event included a diverse mix of representatives from across the country. The attendees included consultants, executives, and board members from different companies and organizations.

From left to right: Gay Patrick, executive director of Saskatchewan Potash Producers Association, Inc.; Mark Frachhia, president and CEO of PCS Potash, also known as PotashCorp; Cam Baker, manager of government relations Canada at PCS Potash; and Hugh Loomans, president and CEO of Sylvite were spotted at the Fertilizer Canada event.

Don Kitson (left), from International Raw Materials Ltd., and Bob Adamson (right), chair of Nutrients for Life Foundations, discussed the changing global environment around the fertilizers industry.

This week saw a lot of advocacy action on the Hill, with a number of groups holding lobby days or MP meet-and-greet receptions to introduce new parliamentarians to their respective organizations.

Lobby Monitor editorial intern Denis Ram followed the scene to scope out some of the events taking place. All photos by Ram, unless otherwise specified.

The Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association of Canada and the Canadian Camping and RV Council held a two-pronged day of engagement Wednesday on the Hill, followed by a press conference Thursday.

The first portion of the RVDA’s advocacy day was meeting with around 40 MPs to discuss tourism infrastructure and investments in national parks.

At a meet-and-greet reception later the same day, parliamentarians and staff mingled with representatives from the RVDA and CCRVC in the Parliamentary Restaurant.

There was a diverse group of industry members from all over North America, not just Canada, to meet with new and returning government representatives and introduce the RVDA organization generally.

The next day, Sam Parks, chairman of RVDA and Robert Trask, chairman of the CCRVC, held a joint press conference to address the needs of the recreational vehicle sector.

Sam Parks, chairman of RVDA of Canada opened the Thursday press conference on the Hill (top left) by discussing tourism infrastructure and investments. Robert Trask, chairman of CCRVC, poses with Brian Wilkins, chairman of US-based RVDA (bottom left) during the Wednesday reception at the Parliamentary Restaurant. Trask (bottom right) also spoke at the Thursday press conference, on tax treatment for campsites. Dennis Crockatt (top right), president of the Manitoba Association of Campgrounds and Parks, talks to other members of the RVDA and the CCRVC during the reception on Wednesday.

The main asks from the groups related to how government tourism marketing should recognize the importance of RVing and the need for a review of small business tax policy affecting camp sites.

Currently, camp sites are grouped with apartments and mobile home complexes, making them ineligible for the small business tax benefit.

Parks and Trask both hammered the importance of RVing to the Canadian economy, citing billions of dollars generated by the industry both directly and indirectly.

“This is an opportunity for the government to commit dedicated funding towards required RV infrastructure in our national park system, which is a crucial requirement for the industry to thrive,” said Parks.

Infrastructure asks from the groups related to making improvements to meet sizing requirements for larger RVs, electrical connections and waste disposal facilities at Parks Canada locations.

Infrastructure files also saw attention this week from representatives of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association Inc. , which held an advocacy day in Ottawa on Tuesday.

The insurance advocacy group didn’t hold a reception or open house, but reported planned meetings with key legislators privately to discuss drug costs, genetic testing and the possibility of reintroducing public-private partnership requirements for certain infrastructure projects.

Wednesday, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection hosted an advocacy day as well, holding a reception to speak with lawmakers and stakeholders in policing and industry about their efforts against child pornography and to seek out meaningful partnerships to address the criminal act.

According to posts on Twitter, many Members of Parliament, cabinet ministers and staff representatives were in attendance. This included Liberal cabinet members Patty Hajdu, Carolyn Bennett, Ralph Goodale and MP Michael Levitt. Conservatives at the event included Senator Don Plett and MP Harold Albrecht, according to posts on social media.

A pleasure to be on hand to support the great work of @CdnChildProtect! pic.twitter.com/8SeSPvkVDq

— Patty Hajdu (@PattyHajdu) April 13, 2016

Proud2B here as @DrRobbieO hosts @CdnChildProtect protectchildren.ca recptn #breakthesilence #childabuse #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/Jt9cd0ZUun — Carolyn Bennett (@Carolyn_Bennett) April 13, 2016

Proud to join Ministers + MPs at the @CdnChildProtect in Ottawa – fighting child abuse, helping families. — Ralph Goodale (@RalphGoodale) April 14, 2016

Attending @CdnChildProtect event raising awareness for child protection w/ @marcomendicino #breakthesilence #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/64KHexOg8j

— Michael Levitt (@LevittMichael) April 13, 2016

With fellow Manitobans @LiannaMcDonald & @SignyArnason from @CdnChildProtect. Thank you for all that you do! pic.twitter.com/3n5D8kHes2

— Senator Don Plett (@DonPlett) April 13, 2016

Canadian Centre for Child Protection @CdnChildProtect #protectCanada‘sChildren pic.twitter.com/NF1RfCketR

— Harold Albrecht (@Albrecht4KitCon) April 13, 2016

Earlier in the week, on Monday, pharmaceutical industry group Innovative Medicines Canada was on the Hill holding an open house with two main objectives.

The first objective was to reintroduce the rebranded organization to returning and new MPs. The group was known as Canada’s Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies until the beginning of 2016.

Taking lawmakers on a “direct discovery journey” from drug development to public availability was the second objective of the open house.

Innovative Medicines Canada (top centre) introduces their rebrand. President of IMC Russell Williams poses for a photo (top left) during the reception. Five stations were set up in the room, as a guided tour from medicine development to deployment. Food and drinks were available in the packed room, as IMC representatives met with legislators to introduce themselves.

IMC had five stations set up, with researchers, company representatives and other stakeholders explaining the process of a medicine’s development and deployment.

One of the key undertones of the stations was discussing the impacts of Canada’s patchwork of regulation that differs from region to region. The pricing of a drug, based on various private or public coverage, was also explained.

One of the key themes of the night was how to speed up the process for a new medicine, so it can get to the patient that needs it sooner rather than later.

MPs making an appearance at the IMC open house included Liberal parliamentary secretary to the PM Celina Chavannes and Conservatives Ed Fast and Cheryl Gallant. Companies with representatives at the event included Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Bayer and Sanofi.

A year ago, as organizers prepared for the annual Broadbent Institute Progress Summit, the federal NDP were witnessing an uptick in support as parties prepped for a federal election call that would come mid-way through summer 2015.

Twelve months later, the scene at Thursday’s summit opening reception was packed, lively and boisterous, defying the somber mood settling over Canada’s progressive NPD supporters as they gear up for a leadership review at an April 8 convention in Edmonton.

The party was left with just 44 seats in the House following the October election, after winning 103 in 2011. 

Polling shows the party’s support at historically dismal levels, according to a recent poll from Ekos for iPolitics. The poll shows the NDP at just 11.7 per cent support among Canadians, the lowest level since 2003. 

NDP leader Thomas Mulcair arrived mid-way through festivities at the opening gala on Thursday, drawing requests for selfies from a number of attendees noshing on hors-d’oeuvres and making custom anti-Donald Trump lapel pins in the crowd. 

While some attendees remarked on the contrast between the jovial mood and upcoming scrutiny on the progressive party’s election performance, Ottawa’s GR community showed up in full force to the event. The opening reception was sponsored by the Government Relations Institute of Canada, members of which regularly show up at events like the left-leaning Progress Summit and right-leaning Manning Centre Conference that encourage public policy discourse more broadly. 

Influence and policy professionals spotted amongst the crowd included: GRIC president André Albinati, among other institute board members; former NDP MP turned World Wildlife Fund Canada consultant on ocean governance Megan Leslie; Crestview Strategy consultants Stephen Hampton and Joanna Carey (who joined the firm recently after a stint with Capital Hill Group); Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs government relations and university outreach director Allyson Grant; and U15 Group‘s new public affairs director Dylan Hanley, also formerly of CIJA, among others. 

Summit activities continued through the weekend, with a Friday panel on infrastructure raising questions among government relations veterans about the role of the private sector in consultations on design of Ottawa’s promised infrastructure spending programs.

It’s been a busy post-election season for the GR sector, which witnessing a 185 per cent jump in lobby activity in the capital in February.

Here at The Lobby Monitor, we’ve been caught up in the action too (scroll down, and you’ll see why this blog post is framed as a one-year reflection), and are busy gearing up for another heavy month of advocacy on the Hill.

Stay tuned to our website for the latest on who is making waves in the federal influence community, and for updates from the events, reception and lobby day scene in Ottawa. Lobbying and government relations action will be from groups including pharmaceutical industry representatives, insurance pros, recreational vehicle dealers, air liner advocates and others, through the month of April. 

Open Dialogue Forum draws federal dollars

Further east in Ottawa, the Open Dialogue Conference, hosted jointly by Liberal supporter-linked think tank Canada 2020 and collaboration agency PubliVate, took over the Shaw Centre on Thursday and Friday. 

Treasury Board president Scott Brison kicked off festivities with an address calling for government to “be open by default” and announcing consultations on a new open government policy.

The veteran Liberal spoke of ushering in a new era of transparency, arguing that the federal government would now have to justify why they are withholding information instead of having those requesting it explain why they need it. He also called for a dismantling of overly bureaucratic structures to woo younger workers to government service.

In a lighter moment, Brison gamely fought back against reporter questions on offering government funding for the event, which exclusively featured speeches from Liberal politicians and private sector professionals. 

When asked how he would respond if the former government had done the same, he said had the Conservatives earmarked money for an open government event the Grits would have instead been “pleasantly surprised.”

– With files from Lobby Monitor reporters Alyssa O’Dell and Marco Vigliotti

The Broadbent Institute’s Progress Summit wrapped up this Saturday, with hundreds of attendees gathering at the Delta Ottawa City Centre for three days to hear from speakers that included political philosopher Charles Taylor, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair and Ed Broadbent himself.

Ed Broadbent, former leader of the federal NDP between 1975 and 1989, welcomes delegates to the Progress Summit March 26. He said he told his colleagues he wouldn’t be speaking long, so was fine holding on to his own glass of wine.        Alyssa O’Dell photo.

In only its second year, more than 900 people signed up to attend the summit, said Rick Smith, executive director of the Broadbent Institute, at the event’s opening reception March 26.

From a packed Delta penthouse overlooking the Ottawa River and Parliament, Earnscliffe Strategy Group’s Robin Sears welcomed reception-goers on behalf of the firm and the Government Relations Institute of Canada.

The GRIC sponsored the Progress Summit’s opening evening, which gave guests a taste of multicultural entertainment from Toronto’s Juno-nominated Autorickshaw band, hot and cold hors d’oeuvres and a popular make-your-own poutine station that was better visited than either of the cash bars.

Liberal MP Adam Vaughan, Earnscliffe’s Robin Sears and Olivia Chow at the opening reception.
Alyssa O’Dell photo.

Sears quickly moved away from GR topics to put on his “favourite old hat” from his days as federal secretary for the NDP during Broadbent’s years as leader of the party.

“[Broadbent] was a man for whom politics was always about ideas as well as values … and that was rare then in politics, and it sure as hell is rare today,” Sears told summit guests.

He said political parties today are much worse at being places where ideas are incubated, instead becoming “too fixated with the machinery and with the flash” of politics and less worried about the merit of their ideas.

“As a result, a lot of people don’t play any role in political parties anymore,” said Sears, adding that he sees the Broadbent Institute, a self-declared non-partisan organization founded in 2011, as a step to recreating a new home for social democratic thinking on progressive issues in Canada.

The sold out summit aimed to bring together leading progressive thinkers, organizers and policy experts to tackle big issues in advance of this year’s election.

Other members of the GR community taking part in the event included Summa Strategies Canada’s vice-chairman Tim Powers, who was part of a summit panel discussion on “Fighting for the Frame: How Progressives Can Win Back the Debate.”

Rick Smith, Broadbent Institute executive director (left) and Autorickshaw vocalist Suba Sankaran (top) both appeared on stage in front of a packed penthouse at the Delta City Centre March 26.
Alyssa O’Dell photos.

Notable delegates speaking at event panels included Perry Bellegarde, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, 2014 U.S. Democratic pollster of the year Anna Greenberg and Facebook’s head of public policy Kevin Chan.

Topics discussed ranged from manufacturing and clean energy, to Canada’s relationship with indigenous peoples and political engagement among young Canadians.

At a standing-room-only lunch roundtable on March 28, delegates discussed food as a federal election issue, touching on subjects like national food policy, food security issues in Canada’s North and challenges faced by young farmers in Canada.

Food Secure Canada, which hosted the lunch featuring healthy veggie and cheese snacks from local farmers, is launching a new campaign to ask the federal government for a $1-billion investment for a Universal Healthy School Food Program, according to Diana Bronson, executive director of the advocacy group.

For young farmers, concern at the roundtable focused on difficulties accessing land and start-up capital.

“Farmers are getting older,” said Genevieve Grossenbacher, co-owner of a small-scale organic farm in Buckingham, Que.

She said the average age of farmers in Canada is 54, and that younger farmers are often discouraged from joining the sector because of high costs for land and difficulty acquiring funding to start operations.

Diana Bronson, executive director of Food Secure Canada (right), and small-hold farmer Genevieve Grossenbacher (left) at a March 28 roundtable on food as an election issue.
Alyssa O’Dell photos.

Grossenbacher, who led discussion among young farmers at the event, is also program manager for community and volunteer engagement at USC Canada, an organization that promotes international development through ecological agriculture.

When asked about the issue of access to labour, young farmers around the table agreed it was a significant concern.

With other members of Canada’s agriculture sector saying a declining low-skilled workforce in Canada and recent changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program are causing issues in the industry, Grossenbacher said young farmers making low incomes are sometimes forced to pay themselves less than labourers in order to attract workers during their first few years of production.

She added that changes to the government’s student employment grant program, which currently doesn’t fit within the farming season, could go a long way to bridging this gap.

It was a packed house of policy makers, lobbyists and media that filled the softly lit National Arts Centre lobby Tuesday to get their fill of traditional Inuit food and entertainment at the fifth annual A Taste of the Arctic event.

An ice sculpture greeted guests at the event, hosted each year by the Inuit association ITK.
Alyssa O’Dell photo.

The evening is put on each year by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, an advocacy group working to promote the environmental, social, cultural, health and political interests of Canada’s nearly 60,000 Inuit. Formed in 1971, the group aims to bring a piece Arctic culture to Ottawa.

This year NAC executive chef John Morris offered up a number of unique and modern dishes made with Arctic-sourced ingredients like muskox, buttery smoked Arctic char, caribou two ways and, for the first time, maktaaq chicharrón, a deep fried beluga skin crackling served with spicy vinegar dipping sauce.

Left, whale skin crackling, known as maktaaq chicharrón, was a popular sampling at this year’s A Taste of the Arctic. Pipsi, top right, a dried Arctic char dish served with a caper and fennel slaw, was also on offer. A twist on the southern classic jambalaya included seal sausage, Arctic clams, seared seal and smoked paprika scented rice, bottom right.
Alyssa O’Dell photo.

Traditionally, maktaaq is eaten fresh, but as in previous years NAC chef John Morris adapted dishes to appeal to less Arctic-experienced Ottawa tastebuds.

“This is Canadian cuisine at its finest,” ITK president Terry Audla told attendees, adding that the event was an opportunity to get an introduction to how Canada’s Inuit have survived for hundreds of years.

“Inuit culture is not exotic, it’s Canadian culture,” he said.

Arctic shrimp on offer at the A Taste of the Arctic event.
Alyssa O’Dell photo.

Audla used the opportunity to publicly address comments made by Hockey Night in Canada personality Don Cherry in February criticizing his broadcasting partner, Ron MacLean, for eating a seal burger.

Cherry joked that MacLean ate a “little baby seal” and asked, “What are you, a savage, a barbarian?” He later apologized over social media.

“Eating a seal burger in Canada should not be controversial,” said Audla.

Shortly after Cherry’s comments Audla told CTV News that without seal as part of Inuit diet, Canada’s Arctic might face third world situations today.

Also in February, the European Commission announced it plans to toughen a ban on commercial seal hunt products. Canada lost a World Trade Organization challenge last May to appeal the EU ban on skins, furs and other seal products put in place over animal welfare concerns. 

Inuit singer-songwriter Elisapie Isaac delighted guests again this year with her signature eloquant and soulful organic pop music. She hails from Salluit, in northern Arctic Quebec.
Alyssa O’Dell photo.

The packed house made for an excellent opportunity for Ottawa regulars to mingle with some of Canada’s northern leaders while entertainers like Geronimo Inutiq, better known as DJ Mad Eskimo, spun a lively mix of traditional Inuit and modern electronic music.

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Peter MacKay made a brief appearance with his son to check out a muskox display put on by the Museum of Nature.

Justice Minister Peter MacKay was spotted chatting with ITK president Terry Audla at the event.
Alyssa O’Dell photo.

Attendees from the GR sector included Environics Communications consultant Alex Bushell, who said he particularly enjoyed the mini muskox burger that was served topped with a sesame-soya mayo.

Environics helped coordinate parts of the ITK event, and VP of government relations Greg MacEachern also made an appearance later in the evening after attending the Canadian Water Network Parliamentary Reception at the Westin Ottawa hotel.

Hill Times reporter Rachel Aiello, left, compares evening tasting notes with Environics consultant Alex Bushell, left.    Alyssa O’Dell photo.

Other hits at the evening were the tender and lightly-seasoned carved caribou hip, served with a Sakatoon berry jus and sunchoke purée, and canapés that included nikku, dried caribou, and a selection of fresh Arctic seafood.

A bar serving crêpes à la minute with a tart chokecherry chutney, Labrador tea chantilly cream and salted caramel sauce was also busy throughout the evening.

Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada president Duane Smith, left, and ICC international chair Okalik Eegeesiak, right, are members of ITK board of directors who were busy mingling at the NAC.
Alyssa O’Dell photo.

NAC chefs man the caribou hip carving station at the March 10 A Taste of the Arctic event.
Alyssa O’Dell photo.

Words and photos by Lobby Monitor reporter Alyssa O’Dell.

Heavyweights from the farming and electronic entertainment industries held two separate events Tuesday, giving MPs, lobbyists and industry advocates the opportunity to mingle over current issues and the latest video game releases.

At the kick-off of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture’s two day annual general meeting, delegates took the opportunity to discuss prioritizing the Canadian food system during the impending 2015 election.

The CFA took a break from voting on policy resolutions to hear remarks by Ralph Goodale, former finance minister and current deputy leader of the federal Liberals, on how he sees Canadian agriculture moving forward during an election year.

Calling the current situation “unambiguously negative”, Goodale highlighted specific issues he’d like to see government attention on including water resource management, reliability of grain transportation by rail and costly Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) regulations in the U.S.

From left to right: Jeaneatte Mongeon, board member of the Agricultural Management Institute and director with Farm Management Canada; FMC Executive Director Heather Watson; and Judith Andrew, who is the commissioner for employers at the Canada Employment Insurance Commission, at the CFA president’s reception.

In a Q&A session with delegates, Goodale was asked to share his thoughts on the current labour shortages within the agriculture industry.

He said the embattled Temporary Foreign Worker Program needs a more sensitive “calibration” that could include collecting labour market data on a community level to make decisions on which sectors and regions would benefit most from using the program.

Later, attendees gathered for a reception in the penthouse panorama room of the Delta City Centre in Ottawa for canapés, gourmet turkey sandwiches and the chance to hear Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz present his outlook for the industry in advance of the election.

Association President Ron Bonnett, centre, moderates questions from CFA members about the future of ag policy in Canada. Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz, far left, presented a positive long-term forecast for the industry.

Ritz was joined at the reception by Transport Minister Lisa Raitt, and was asked about the TFWP labour issue, ongoing rail transport issues and chemical regulatory harmonization with the U.S.

He said pushing for a fix to COOL regulations, which are costing the livestock industry more that $1 billion a year, would continue to be a priority. Overall, Ritz said agriculture production in Canada would have to continue to rise to meet the needs of a growing world population.

From left to right: Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture Vice-President Kimberly Stokdjik, Director Victor Oulton and President Chris Van Den Heuvel wait for remarks from Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz at the CFA reception.

Video game showcase a hit

At the eighth annual Entertainment Software Association of Canada showcase, MPs, staffers and lobbyists had the chance to try out the newest in video game entertainment.

Over hand-held poutine and creamy macaroni and cheese snacks, attendees tested out the latest incarnation of games like Nintendo’s Mario Cart, PlayStation’s Little Big Planet 3 and Ubisoft’s Valiant Hearts–The Great War.

ESAC President Jayson Hilchie says the event was the biggest yet.

Several consultants from Temple Scott Associates Inc., including senior executive Don Moors, stopped by the event. Temple Scott is registered under Moors to lobby federally on behalf of ESAC on copyright legislation, international trade agreements and temporary foreign workers, among other files. Duncan Rayner, the firm’s vice-president, and associate Joshua Matthewman were also in attendance.

Temple Scott Associates Senior Vice-President Don Moors (left) and Jayson Hilchie (right), ESAC president and CEO, pose for a photo during the packed showcase, held Tuesday at the Château Laurier.

All words and photos by Lobby Monitor reporter Alyssa O’Dell, who unfortunately missed the opportunity to take a selfie with lifelong hero Super Mario.