Latest news with #lobbying
CBC
15 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
Liberal lobbyists line up to influence Holt government
Social Sharing New Brunswick's registry of lobbyists has seen a wave of new filings from Liberal-connected consultants looking to influence Premier Susan Holt's Liberal government on behalf of paying clients. Since Holt took power last fall, two former Liberal premiers, Brian Gallant and Shawn Graham, have taken on new clients seeking to influence government policy. Three former Liberal cabinet ministers and two former advisers have also registered new clients since Holt was sworn in. Progressive Conservative Opposition Leader Glen Savoie highlighted Gallant's Feb. 28 registration to lobby for Aecon Group Inc., a major construction company that has worked on nuclear power and natural gas projects, among others. In his filing, Gallant said he wanted to organize meetings with Infrastructure Minister Chuck Chiasson and N.B. Power CEO Lori Clark to promote Aecon's "corporate brand awareness and capabilities." Holt worked for a job-creation secretariat created by Gallant when he was premier. "Her former boss Brian Gallant said at every turn that perception matters," Savoie said. "So now here he is lobbying his former employee as a lobbyist. What's the perception on that?" Gallant forced out one of his MLAs, Donald Arseneault, in 2017 for taking on lobbying work while sitting as a backbencher. Lobbying rules allowed it, but Gallant said it would be seen as a conflict of interest. Savoie suggested Gallant might help Aecon secure a contract to build a new N.B. Power natural gas power plant in Scoudouc that was announced last December. Holt said she did not know whether Aecon had the contract and said she had never met with the company. WATCH | 'What's the perception on that?': Opposition on Liberal lobbyists Liberal lobbyists take on new clients after Holt election win 1 hour ago Duration 2:39 "Our ministers meet with community groups, not-for-profits, citizens, certainly staff of the government, front-line workers, without lobbyists at all," Holt told reporters. "The presence of a lobbyist does not determine who gets what meeting when. "If a company wants to ask [for a meeting] themselves, or pay somebody to ask for them, it's still treated the same." Asked in that case why a company would need to pay lobbyists, the premier said, "It's a great question. I'm not sure." In a written statement to CBC News, Gallant said he became "an advisor" to Aecon in early 2024, before the Liberals won the election. "Aecon has done work in Atlantic Canada and has the capabilities to do more in the region, including in New Brunswick," he wrote. Aecon did not respond to a request for comment. Gallant's February registration is his first ever in the public lobbyist registry, which has existed since 2017. Former Liberal premier Shawn Graham, a longtime lobbyist, added two new clients to his roster since Holt took power last year. He now represents Fertility Partners Inc., a Moncton clinic, and Global University Systems Canada, a for-profit chain of universities that operates three medical schools in the Caribbean. Graham said in an email his work with Fertility Partners is to help establish a research centre at the Université de Moncton and is unconnected to Holt's recent announcement about funding for one round of in vitro fertilization for New Brunswickers. In his registration for Global University Systems Canada, Graham says he would meet with Health Minister John Dornan about an initiative to "help address the family physician shortage by offering fully funded medical school education to provincial citizens." Graham turned down a request for an interview. Holt said in question period Friday that she itemizes all her official meetings in social-media videos she releases every Monday. She questioned whether there's a link between a Liberal government taking office and Liberal-connected consultants taking on new clients. "You'd have to look at the history to see if that's the case," she said. "I'm sure somebody could probably do the data to see if there's correlation between new registrations and changes in governments." The premier suggested having Liberal connections may actually be a disadvantage, because her office may hesitate over how it might look to help someone with connections. Savoie also flagged Holt's links to Jordan O'Brien, a former chief of staff to Gallant with a long list of current and former lobbying clients. Since Holt was elected, O'Brien has started lobbying for Populus Plus, a health technology company, and the Fredericton International Airport. Last fall, Liberal insider Maurice Robichaud, a former communications adviser to Graham and to an earlier Liberal premier, Frank McKenna, registered as a lobbyist for the Convenience Industry Council of Canada. The organization opposed a Liberal bill to repeal the "cost of carbon adjustor" surcharge on gasoline put in place by the Blaine Higgs government that passes the cost of federal clean-fuel regulations to consumers. The council argued repealing the surcharge would leave gas wholesalers and retailers absorbing the cost instead. A week after Robichaud registered, the Liberals put the bill on hold. Greg Byrne, a former Liberal cabinet minister and one-time chief of staff to Gallant, also registered to lobby for the council, the records show. Robichaud, meanwhile, is also registered to lobby for Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, a wind energy company, and the New Brunswick Pharmacists Association. Another former Liberal minister, Doug Tyler, who also worked in Graham's office when he was premier, filed paperwork last month for two new lobbying clients. He is working for the Northern Group of Companies, a Grand Falls-based asphalt company, meeting with officials including Holt's chief of staff, Katie Davey, "to promote the importance of a safe and modern Highway Network in New Brunswick." He is also representing another Grand Falls company, Greystone, which he says in his filing is a new company in the power line maintenance and restoration business. Donald Arseneault, a Liberal cabinet minister in Graham and Gallant Liberal governments, has registered four new clients since the start of 2025. They include the Energy Alliance of the North, an organization of regional service commissions and First Nations that Arseneault says in his registration is seeking changes to provincial laws so it can bid to launch renewable energy projects to supply N.B. Power. Another of his clients is Groupe Lebel, a company that owns a sawmill in Tobique Valley that "has planned various capital projects and is looking for government financial assistance, along with increased Crown wood allocations," the filing says. The two other new clients are the University of Fredericton, a private institution, and the Northern New Brunswick Airport Authority Inc., which operates the Bathurst airport. Holt promised in last fall's election campaign to "modernize and strengthen the lobbyist registry to enhance transparency and accountability." Holt revealed Friday that her government is ending its $19,000 US a month contract with lobbyists in Washington who were hired earlier this year to lobby the Trump administration and members of Congress on tariffs. She said the contract, which began Feb. 3, had served its purpose. "The relationships and the connections have now been made."
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
How the little-known ‘dark roof' lobby may be making US cities hotter
It began with a lobbyist's pitch. Tennessee representative Rusty Grills says the lobbyist proposed a simple idea: repeal the state's requirement for reflective roofs on many commercial buildings. In late March, Grills and his fellow lawmakers voted to eliminate the rule, scrapping a measure meant to save energy, lower temperatures and protect Tennesseans from extreme heat. Grills, a Republican, told Floodlight that he introduced the bill to give consumers more choice. It was another win for a well-organized lobbying campaign led by manufacturers of dark roofing materials. Industry representatives called the rollback in Tennessee a needed correction as more of the state moved into a hotter climate zone, expanding the reach of the state's cool-roof rule. Critics called it dangerous and 'deceptive'. 'The new law will lead to higher energy costs and greater heat-related illnesses and deaths,' state representative Harold Love and the Rev. Jon Robinson said in a statement. It will, critics warned, make Nashville, Memphis, and other cities hotter – particularly in underserved Black and Latino communities, where many struggle to pay their utility bills. Similar lobbying has played out in Denver, Baltimore and at the national level. Industry groups have questioned the decades-old science behind cool roofs, downplayed the benefits and warned of reduced choice and unintended consequences. 'A one-size-fits-all approach doesn't consider climate variation across different regions,' wrote Ellen Thorp, the executive director of the EPDM Roofing Association, a DC-based national group which represents an industry built primarily on dark materials. But the weight of the scientific evidence is clear: on hot days, light-colored roofs can stay more than 50 degrees cooler than dark ones, helping cut energy use, curb greenhouse gas emissions and reduce heat-related illnesses and deaths. One recent study found that reflective roofs could have saved the lives of more than 240 people who died in London's 2018 heatwave. At least eight states – and more than a dozen cities in other states – have adopted cool-roof requirements, according to the Smart Surfaces Coalition, a national group of public health and environmental groups that promote reflective roofs, trees and other solutions to make cities healthier. Industry representatives lobbied successfully in recent months against expanding cool roof recommendations in national professional energy efficiency codes – the standards that many cities and states use to set building regulations. The stakes are high. As global temperatures rise and heat waves grow more deadly, the roofs over our heads have become battlefields in a consequential climate war. It's happening as the Trump administration and Congress move to derail measures designed to make appliances and buildings more energy efficient. The principle is simple: light-colored roofs reflect sunlight, so buildings stay cooler. Dark ones absorb heat, driving up temperatures inside buildings and in the surrounding air. Roofs comprise up to one-fourth of the surface area of major US cities, researchers say, so the color of roofs can make a big difference in urban areas. Just how hot can dark roofs get? 'You can physically burn your hands on these roofs,' said Bill Updike, who used to install solar panels and now works for the Smart Surfaces Coalition. Study after study has confirmed the benefits of light-colored roofs. They save energy, lower air conditioning bills and reduce city temperatures. They help prevent heat-related illnesses. And they typically cost no more than dark roofs. A study by the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that a cool roof on a home in central California saved 20% in annual energy costs. In a three-story rowhouse in Baltimore, Owen Henry discovered what a difference a cool roof can make. Living in a part of the city with few trees – and where summer temperatures often climb into the 90s – Henry wanted to trim his power bills and stay cooler while working in his third-floor office. So in 2023, he used $100 worth of white reflective roof paint to coat his roof. Henry said he and his wife immediately saw the indoor temperature drop. They reduced their electricity use – by 24%. Known for its durability, a black synthetic rubber known as EPDM once dominated commercial roofing. But in recent years it has been surpassed by TPO, a plastic single-ply material which is typically white and is better suited to meet the growing demand for reflective roofs. Leading EPDM manufacturers – including Johns Manville, Carlisle SynTec and Elevate, a division of the Swiss multinational company Holcim – also make reflective roofing materials. But they have fought against regulations that threaten to further diminish their market share. In an emailed response to Floodlight's questions, Thorp argued that many of the studies cited to support cool roof mandates leave out important factors, such as local climate variations, roof type, tree canopy and insulation thickness. And she pointed to a recent study by Harvard researchers who concluded that white roofs and pavements may reduce precipitation, causing temperatures to unexpectedly increase in surrounding regions. But Haider Taha, a leading expert on urban heat, identified flaws in the Harvard study, stating: 'The study's conclusions fail to provide actionable insights for urban cooling strategies or policymaking.' When Baltimore debated a cool roof ordinance in 2022, Thorp's group and the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA) lobbied hard against it, arguing that dark roofs are the most efficient choice in 'northern climates like Baltimore'. In cold climates, industry representatives note, cool roofs can lead to higher winter heating bills. 'Current research does not support the adoption of cool roofs as a measure that will achieve improved energy efficiency or reduced urban heat island,' Thorp wrote in a letter to one council member. Multiple studies show otherwise. They've concluded that reflective roofs do save energy and cool cities by easing the 'urban heat island effect' – the extra heat that gets trapped in many city neighborhoods because buildings and pavement soak up the sun. Researchers have also found that even in most cold North American climates, the energy savings from cool roofs during warmer months outweighs any added heating costs in the winter. Despite the opposition, Baltimore passed a cool-roof ordinance in 2023. Opponents of cool roof requirements like Baltimore's say they oversimplify a complex issue. In an email to Floodlight, ARMA executive vice-president Reed Hitchcock said such rules aren't a 'magic bullet'. He encouraged regulators to consider a 'whole building approach' – one that weighs insulation, shading and climate in addition to roof color to preserve design flexibility and consumer choice. Henry, the Baltimore homeowner, said he thinks the city's ordinance will help all residents. 'Phooey to any manufacturer that's going to try and stop us from maintaining our community and making it a pleasant place to live,' he said. Elsewhere, the industry's lobbyists have notched victories. They lobbied successfully to water down a cool-roof ordinance in Denver and to block stricter standards by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) – a professional organization that creates model standards for city and state regulations. The current ASHRAE standard recommends reflective roofs on commercial buildings in US climate zones 1, 2 and 3 — the country's hottest regions. Those include most of the south, Hawaii, almost all of Texas, areas along the Mexican border and most of California. Said Thorp in a recent interview, 'We've been able to stop all of those … mandates from creeping into climate zone 4 and 5.' Another group headed by Thorp – the Coalition for Sustainable Roofing – worked with the lobbyist to propose the bill that eliminated Tennessee's cool-roof requirement. That rule once applied to commercial buildings in just 14 of the state's 95 counties, but an update to climate maps in 2021 expanded the requirements to 20 more counties, including its most populous urban area – Nashville. Brian Spear, a homeowner in Tempe, Arizona, has lived in the Phoenix area since the 1980s, back when there were fewer than 30 days a year when the temperature reached 110F. Last year, there were 70 of those days – the highest on record — followed only by 2023, when there were 55 days of 110F plus. These days, summer mornings start out scorching, he says, 'and I feel like if you go outside between 10am and 4pm, it's dangerous.' Spear says he'll soon replace the aging roof on an Airbnb home that he owns. After weighing the usual concerns – cost and aesthetics – he has chosen a surface that he believes will help rather than harm: a gray metal roof with a reflective coating. 'If someone told me you couldn't put a dark roof on your house … I'd understand,' he said. 'I'm all about it being for the common good.' Floodlight is a nonprofit newsroom that partners with local and national outlets to investigate the powerful interests stalling climate action. Read the full version of this story here
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Revealed: Labour MP in undeclared relationship with trade union boss she lobbied for in Parliament
A Labour MP is under pressure to explain why she lobbied Parliament on behalf of a trade union while in an undeclared relationship with its boss. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Durham MP Mary Foy is in a relationship with militant former fireman Matt Wrack, who led the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) for two decades until January. Ms Foy introduced two Early Day Motions on behalf of the union when Mr Wrack was the FBU's general secretary – one asking for a pay rise for firefighters and the other calling for the Government to support a union campaign. She also accepted a £2,000 donation from the FBU for her 2024 General Election campaign, which she launched alongside Mr Wrack. The union also provided a staff member from its political team to work in Ms Foy's parliamentary office for more than a year. It is understood that Ms Foy has now contacted the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to check whether she has complied with the rules on MPs' declarations. When approached for comment by the MoS, neither Ms Foy nor Mr Wrack denied the relationship but both maintained that Ms Foy had always campaigned for workers' rights. Meanwhile, multiple well-placed sources have told this newspaper that it was 'well known' within the union that the pair began a relationship after splitting from previous partners. While they have now been together for several years, Ms Foy has not declared the relationship in the MPs' register of interests. The code of conduct requires MPs to declare any family members involved in lobbying the Government, which includes 'cohabiting partners'. Asked repeatedly whether she felt that she should have declared the relationship, Ms Foy declined to answer. Last night Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty said: 'If these allegations are correct, Ms Foy has serious questions to answer. MPs have a duty to be open and transparent if their family life has any bearing on our work at Westminster. 'Ms Foy should clarify immediately whether she has been so.' Ms Foy came under scrutiny in 2021 during the 'Beergate' probe after Sir Keir Starmer was pictured drinking beer in her Durham office when there were strict Covid rules in place. The Daily Mail reported in 2022 that she had launched a 'drunken tirade' on the Commons terrace against Richard Holden, the Tory MP who led calls for a police investigation into the event. She later apologised to him. Police carried out a two-month investigation before concluding that there had been no breach of the ban on indoor mixing because it was a work gathering. Ms Foy has been a long-time supporter of both the trade union movement generally and also the FBU. While in a relationship with Mr Wrack, Ms Foy said in 2023: 'I'll continue to back the demands of firefighters in Parliament.' Mr Wrack has faced his share of scrutiny in recent months after he failed to be re-elected as the FBU's general secretary in January and then was controversially named as the head of Britain's second-largest teaching union, despite having never been a teacher. The militant socialist was appointed to the £130,000-a-year job at the NASUWT unopposed, but there will now be a contested election for the role after a challenger launched legal action, claiming that he had been barred from running. A spokesman for Ms Foy said: 'Mary Foy works with a wide range of stakeholders, including a number of trade unions. 'Mary has proudly advocated for paramedics, prison officers, teachers, firefighters, doctors and other frontline staff in Durham, the wider North East and indeed the country during her time as an MP – that work will continue.' Mr Wrack said the FBU had introduced a conflict-of-interest policy under his leadership and that he did not attend any discussion on donations relating to the 2024 General Election He added: 'It is entirely reasonable for an MP to raise concerns about the pay of dedicated public servants, especially after years of austerity and falling living standards.' An FBU spokesman said: 'Our union's funding of the Labour Party and a number of its MPs is completely transparent.' A spokesman from the Fire Brigades Union said: 'Our union's funding of the Labour Party and a number of its MPs is completely transparent. Ours is the cleanest money in politics. 'Every political donation made by the union goes through a process and is agreed by the FBU's executive council. 'The FBU is proud of the role our representatives played in campaigning to ensure that Labour's General Election manifesto included a plan to extend workers' rights such as by banning zero-hour contracts and outlawing fire and rehire. 'Labour must be funded by trade unions and membership subscriptions. That transparent relationship is in stark contrast to that of the Tories and Reform UK who are bankrolled by the super rich.'
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Musk Lobbies Washington to Clear Way for Self-Driving Cars
Elon Musk is pushing lawmakers to help clear a path for driverless vehicles, according to people familiar with the matter, part of a broader effort behind the scenes to lobby for a key priority of Tesla Inc. In recent weeks, Musk and people who work for him have been calling members of Congress directly to gather support, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. He has also been weighing in on revisions of a bill introduced on May 15 that would begin setting up a basic framework for autonomous vehicles.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
The Lobbying Act is more loophole than law
The Guardian's project examining the commercial interests of the House of Lords is vital (Watchdog investigates Tory peer over nuclear firm's meeting with minister, 28 May). But the fact that identifying potential lobbying has fallen to a national newspaper demonstrates the frailty of Westminster's Lobbying Act. The 2014 Act, introduced in near-cosmic irony by the Cameron government – whose head ended up embroiled in the Greensill affair – sought to prevent lobbying becoming the next big scandal by creating an open register to allow the public to see who was seeking to influence whom. More loophole than law, the act contains six key exemptions that serve to keep the overwhelming majority of activity off the register and out of public view. Indeed, when the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists watchdog investigated two of the incidents reported by the Guardian for suspected unregistered lobbying, one individual was found to be exempt from signing because they weren't VAT registered and another hadn't received payment. Few would deny that lobbying is a vital part of democratic process, or that those in office shouldn't hear the insights of businesses affected by their decisions. But still fewer would deny that lobbying ought to take place in the open – for it is in the dark where public mistrust foments even when activity is above board. It's time we introduced a proper lobbying GerlisHead of public relations and policy, Chartered Institute of Public Relations Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
