First phase of pharmacare must not ‘create new gaps’ in existing coverage, say lobbyists
Bill C-64 outlines a proposed first phase towards implementation of national universal pharmacare to address accessibility and affordability of prescription drugs and related products.
Ministers’ letters, advertising, and lobbying: advocates make final requests as 2024 budget process nears its end
The third or fourth budget in a government’s mandate is when a party needs to show progress on its commitments ahead of a coming election, says former economic adviser Tyler Meredith.
Environment lobby in February focused on plastics pollution, oil and gas emissions cap
Ottawa will host the fourth International Negotiating Committee in April, featuring representatives from U.N. member states to discuss a global treaty addressing plastic pollution.
Cabinet confidences not ‘black or white’ says former Privy Council clerk in House Ethics Committee study of SNC-Lavalin affair
Wernick’s testimony leaves more questions than answers at hearings happening over five years after the scandal, said Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher.
The Hill Times’ Top 100 Lobbyists in 2024: looming federal election and lingering virtual comms contribute to dynamic advocacy
Broad cross-party outreach, convincing decision-makers that issues are important to them, and being brief are all key to great government relations, say lobbyists.
It’s time the government kicks Big Oil out of the climate conversation
Not all lobbying is the same. The oil and gas industry still has an outsized influence on climate policy in Canada.
Lobbyists prepping clients for possible federal election shakeup, and a Conservative government
Policies that are being enacted and money that’s being spent could be reversed by a Conservative government, warns a senior consultant at Summa Strategies.
Taiwanese envoy warns against banning MPs’ sponsored travel, but former Harper-era minister Kent says MPs should not accept ‘large gifts’
Former minister Peter Kent says MPs accepting free travel is a ‘huge contradiction’ in ethics rules, while Taiwan’s top diplomat Harry Ho-jen Tseng says he’s unsure if MPs would willing pay their own way to visit Taiwan if the trips aren’t sponsored.
Missions abroad cannot be abandoned
Canadian leaders need to bear first-hand witness to create coherent policy, and if we need to find a new, transparent way to make that happen, so be it.
MPs’ sponsored travel back in spotlight as House Ethics Committee, NDP MP Green call for complete ban
NDP MP Matthew Green said an outright ban on accepting sponsored travel would help parliamentarians ‘move beyond the political ambulance-chasing’ over the practice, amid a committee study into Justin Trudeau’s Jamaica vacation.
