A democratic watchdog has called on the federal commissioner of lobbying to investigate two lobbying firms with overlapping staff and conservative connections.Democracy Watch (DWatch) wrote Commissioner of Lobbying Nancy Bélanger Monday morning to investigate lobbying firm Forecheck Strategies, which has several interconnections with the lobbying firm of Pierre Poilievre advisor Jenni Byrne.DWatch says Forecheck Strategies was created the first business day after Poilievre became leader. A Globe and Mail article on March 21 pointed out many connections between Forecheck Strategies founders Andrew Kimber and Simon Jefferies, and Byrne. Kimber is president and Jefferies is senior vice president of the lobbying firm Jenni Byrne and Associates. They share an office and all work together.Some of the staff work for both firms. Byrne’s photo was on the Forecheck website until the Globe contacted Forecheck about it. Someone clicking to book a meeting on the Forecheck website was taken to the website of Jenni Byrne and Associates until the Globe contacted Forecheck about it.CBC reported that some lobbyists listed as working for Forecheck Strategies on the federal lobbying database are listed as employees on the website of Jenni Byrne + Associates, but not on the website of Forecheck Strategies. Conacher confirmed this on the federal registry website.These staff have lobbied at least two of Pierre Poilievre’s staff, at least 13 of his Shadow Cabinet Ministers, and at least one Conservative MP. The leader's office told the Globe and Mail that Byrne was not employed by his office but would not say if she was paid by the Conservative Party. Byrne herself was a key organizer of national campaigns in the Stephen Harper era.In a press release, Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch says the arrangement appears to be a "sham scheme that associates of Jenni Byrne concocted to make money through unethical lobbying of federal Conservative politicians."It is a violation of the federal Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct to create an appearance of a conflict of interest for a politician or other public official by lobbying them whenever they have a sense of obligation to you or your clients, or when they have close relationship with you or your clients, or by lobbying them at the same time or after doing favours or assisting them. It is also a violation of the Lobbying Act to fail to register paid lobbying accurately.Conacher said without a worthy investigation, "the Commissioner will not only add to the evidence that she is a dedicated lapdog who will do almost anything to encourage and allow unethical lobbying, but also that the new lobbyists’ code that she drafted...has a huge loophole that allows for clearly unethical lobbying."Conacher said loopholes were already put into the new version of the Code last year by the Commissioner and House Ethics Committee, and a shoddy ruling in this case would make things worse."Any lobby firm would be able to have its partners or lobbyists fundraise or campaign for or do other favours for party leaders, parties, MPs and senators and their staff, and then use a partner lobbying firm as a facade or front to lobby those party leaders, MPs and senators and their staff," the press release explains.Section 3 of DWatch’s letter requests that Commissioner Bélanger delegate the investigations and rulings to a provincial ethics or lobbying commissioner who has no ties to any political party. They point out to public statements by Bélanger that lobbyists are good and that public officials should be trusted. For these reasons, Democracy Watch’s position is that Commissioner Bélanger is biased.DWatch also requested that a ruling not be issued until the Federal Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada have issued final rulings in DWatch ongoing court case challenging two rulings by the Commissioner concerning lobbying by people who co-chaired Chrystia Freeland’s 2015 election campaign and whether that created a sense of obligation/appearance of a conflict of interest on the part of Freeland.The Western Standard approached Forecheck Strategies and Jenni Byrne and Associates for comment but did not receive any prior to the submission of this article.
