Liberal lobbyist Elly Alboim – who asked political aides to consider a federal contract for his son – also lobbied the Prime Minister’s Office for a corporate client but never reported the fact..Lobbying for contracts must be disclosed under federal law, said Blacklock’s Reporter..Alboim, a former CBC-TV bureau chief on Parliament Hill, Thursday declined comment but he earlier told Blacklock’s he considered himself an ordinary citizen writing the Government of Canada..“I was not lobbying. As I understand it, the Lobbying Act is not designed to prevent people from speaking to government,” said Alboim..Alboim is a registered lobbyist. The Act mandates that all lobbyists report within ten days on any communication with a public office holder “in respect of the awarding of any grant, contribution or other financial benefit by or on behalf of Her Majesty, or the awarding of any contract.”.Breaches of the law are punishable by a $50,000 fine or six months’ jail..Internal records show Alboim on March 19, 2020 sent an email to the Prime Minister’s Office marked “Urgent: Procurement of N95 masks.” Alboim forwarded a request by a corporate client, Honeywell International Inc., for a federal contract to sell pandemic supplies..“They are looking to help,” said the urgent email. “If Canada needs these, we need to be aggressive about it..“They are interested in helping and if Canada is in need, I am confident this company would step up,” said the email..Lobbyists with Earnscliffe Strategy Group complained the company was not interested in joining a queue of some 26,000 companies asked to register as federal suppliers..“I am confident this company would step up but the portal process is unlikely to be added to their queue,” said the email..“They have a lot of potential customers coming to them right now, so they will focus on those that are most aggressive about their needs.”.The email was referred to the Department of Public Works. Honeywell did not receive a sole-sourced contract for masks..Records indicate Alboim five days later on March 24, 2020 contacted the Minister of Public Works’ office seeking a contract for his son..“There is a group of companies (including one by my son) looking to help provide engineering and manufacturing services to whomever in government,” wrote Alboim..The lobbyist said his son’s work “sounds important.”.“I vouch for Elly here as someone with long government experience,” wrote the Minister’s chief of staff..Alboim told Blacklock’s his son was not successful in winning a federal contract..Alboim is a longtime Liberal Party organizer who previously worked as an advisor to then-Prime Minister Paul Martin..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter.com/nobby7694
