Door-knocking on the Hill

By Nick Taylor-Vaisey

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Thanks for reading Ottawa Playbook. I'm your host, Nick Taylor-Vaisey. Today, we do the math on which policymakers and power players were hounded most by the lobbyist set. Plus, the latest on the federal drug price regulator's quest to prevent excessive prices.

SAVE THE DATE — Playbook Trivia Night is back. Join us for a live edition on Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. at the Met. Sure, your wallets will still be depleted from the holidays, and your health-conscious new year's resolutions might discourage a night of revelry. But it's free to join and bragging rights are at stake.

Book your table today before they run out: RSVP here.

TARGET-RICH ENVIRONMENT — All it took was a 70,000-row spreadsheet, the magic of pivot tables and an overworked laptop that wouldn't stop humming. But Playbook has the empirical lowdown on Ottawa's most lobbied politicians, staffers and bureaucrats in 2022.

— No surprise here: Federal registry data reports the House of Commons was by far the most lobbied institution. MPs and their staff racked up more than 11,000 meetings. (Pity the Senate, which topped out at a hair over 1,500.)

The allure of ISED's Strategic Innovation Fund and assorted other funding sources is real. So is the government's willingness to "invest in" — translation: dole out dough to — global manufacturers who don't mind an added incentive to do their thing in Canada.

Lobbyists scored the most meetings with FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE's Innovation, Science and Economic Development department. If maxing out the meeting count happened to be any minister's goal, STEVEN GUILBEAULT's Environment and Climate Change won the silver. JONATHAN WILKINSON's Natural Resources finished third.

— Top ministers: Champagne was lobbied more than any other Cabinet colleague. General Motors had his ear the most, followed by Vale, FCA Canada (aka Stellantis), Rogers and Rio Tinto.

The feds found millions in federal cash for EV production on GM in April, and celebrated the first van off the line earlier this month. The government unlocked hundreds of millions for automaker Stellantis. Rio Tinto scored millions more in October to "decarbonize" its operations.

Wilkinson ranked second among ministers. He was hounded most by Cenovus, CAPP, GM, the Federation for Canadian Municipalities, and the Pathways Alliance.

Guilbeault ranked third. His top suitors were MakeWay Charitable Society, the David Suzuki Foundation and AquaAction.

— Top staffers: That prize goes to EAMONN MCGUINTY , a senior policy adviser to Guilbeault focusing on clean tech and industrial decarbonization. He was most lobbied by the Canadian Renewable Energy Association.

Guillbeault's policy director for nature and biodiversity, MICHAEL BREWSTER, was second. He took the most meetings with both Nature Canada and the David Suzuki Foundation. KURTIS LAYDEN, a Guilbeault policy adviser on a single-use plastics ban that comes partly into force today, was fourth.

Honorable mentions go to a pile of policy wonks who rounded out the top 10 list of most lobbied staffers: FIONA SIMONS, Wilkinson's d-pol; BLAKE OLIVER, a senior adviser in Wilkinson's and now CHRYSTIA FREELAND's office; Champagne senior advisers KEVIN DEAGLE, PETER OPDAM and ANSON DURAN, as well as adviser BIANCA HOSSAIN; and BRIAN MACKAY, senior adviser to Heritage Minister PABLO RODRIGUEZ.

— Top PMO staffers: It's neck-and-neck between senior policy adviser TONY MAAS and senior adviser BEN CHIN.

— Top bureaucrat: Champagne's deputy minister, SIMON KENNEDY, was the senior public servant in highest demand. The Pathways Alliance sought him out the most.

— Top parlsec: That honor goes to FRANCIS DROUIN, the parliamentary secretary to Agriculture Minister MARIE-CLAUDE BIBEAU. Nobody met the rural eastern Ontario MP more than the Grain Farmers of Ontario.

PMPRB WATCH — The chair-less Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, operating with only three board members and not even a vice-chair after MÉLANIE BOURASSA FORCIER's resignation on Dec. 5, is punting a major decision down the road.

The PMPRB is in the process of crafting implementation guidelines for long-delayed federal regulations meant to prevent excessive drug prices. Bourassa Forcier stepped down the same day the regulator closed public consultations on draft guidelines. The plan was to finalize them by the end of the year.

— Indefinite delay: The pharmaceutical lobbyists at Innovative Medicines Canada, a fierce opponent of the new guidelines, pushed the PMPRB to slam the brakes on the whole process. They argued a chair-less organization was in no position to move forward.

They recently got their wish.

"New Guidelines will not be implemented on January 1, 2023," reads a short update recenly posted to the PMPRB website. "The Interim Guidance issued by the Board on August 18, 2022, will remain in place until further notice."

— Food for thought: The agency also posted copies of 88 submissions to the public consultation.

Moderna Canada president and general manager PATRICIA GAUTHIER filed a submission.

Last April, the mRNA vaccine producer agreed to build a manufacturing plant in Canada. Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU even attended the facility's November groundbreaking ceremony in Laval, Quebec.

But in her letter, Gauthier sounded the alarm about the impact on patients of uncertainty she said the new guidelines could produce.

"In the best-case scenario, pricing uncertainty leads to global de-prioritization of launch order amongst the launch countries which will have implications to Canadian patients who deserve timely access to life saving therapies," Gauthier wrote.

"PMPRB’s interpretation of excessive price (median of the basket) and ignoring the level of therapeutic benefit that a new drug brings to patients in setting its price are concerning and has the potential to significantly impact launch decisions for Canada."

— An alternate view: Independent Voices for Safe and Effective Drugs, a group of "academics, researchers, healthcare providers and patient and consumer advocates," took the contrarian view in a submission.

IVSED doesn't think the PMPRB's proposed regulations and guidelines go far enough — and they call shenanigans on drug companies and their allies.

"We are disappointed that the strongest reforms have largely been abandoned," the group writes. "We agree with commentators who have attributed the government’s pullback to the aggressive opposition from the pharmaceutical industry and the constellation of patient groups they fund."

IVSED wants more transparency and accountability rules for corporations and charities that speak out on pharmaceutical policy — including a federal "sunshine list" that would force drugmakers to disclose financial relationships with patient groups.

— PM Trudeau is in Montreal today to meet Premier FRANÇOIS LEGAULT at 9:15 a.m.

9:30 a.m. (11 a.m. NL) Labor Minister SEAMUS O'REGAN is in St. John's to make a "significant funding announcement" for critical mineral exploration in the province.

10 a.m. A year-end interview with the Prime Minister will be shared on TERRY DIMONTE’s YouTube channel.

10:30 a.m. Sport Minister PASCALE ST-ONGE will be in Granby, Quebec, to "highlight an important development" for the Canada Digital Adoption Program — a federal initiative meant to connect businesses with "expert advice to increase online sales, reduce costs, better manage inventory and more."

11:30 a.m. Indigenous Services Minister PATTY HAJDU will be in Thunder Bay to announce funding for women entrepreneurs and women-led businesses in northern Ontario.

2:35 p.m. Trudeau will visit a food bank.

3:45 p.m. Trudeau will visit local businesses.

TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW — We welcome tips and scoops. What are you hearing that you need Playbook to know? What are you watching this week? Send details.

— The Hill Times annual All Politics Poll is out. PIERRE POILIEVRE was voted both most and least valuable politician.

— CARL MEYER and DREW ANDERSON's latest investigation at The Narwhal: Documents reveal how Alberta oil and gas industry used pandemic to push ‘wish list’

— Holiday rewrite: The Globe's PATRICK BRETHOUR repurposes Christmas classics in his final "Tax and Spend" newsletter. He joins the paper's editorial board next year.

— In Policy magazine, Canadian ambo to Ukraine LARISA GALADZA carries the byline on "Dispatch from a Wartime Ambassador."

— For POLITICO Magazine, ADAM WREN chronicles former veep MIKE PENCE's murky future, writing that he "seems stuck in some muddled attempt to be multiple things simultaneously."

— British Columbia Today's ALEX LAZENBY sits down for a year-ender with B.C. Premier DAVID EBY. Here's his take on inflation: “I don’t think they expect us to solve every issue overnight. We’re talking about global supply chain and inflation issues driven by geopolitical relationships between countries thousands of kilometers from here. But they do expect to feel progress and they do expect us to be pointed in the right direction.”

For POLITICO Pro s, our latest policy newsletter by MAURA FORREST:

In news for POLITICO Pro s:
— The new fight for the Arctic.
— USTR says steel tariff ruling puts WTO “on thin ice.”
— Elon Musk invited to testify in the European Parliament.
— France and Germany push for fast-track subsidies after U.S. row.
— Countries reach landmark deal to protect nature.

Birthdays: HBD to Mental Health Minister CAROLYN BENNETT and former Tory MP BRUCE STANTON.

Movers and shakers: VICKY EATRIDES is the CRTC's new chair and CEO. She starts Jan. 5. The regulator will also get new vice-chairs in early 2023: ALICIA BARIN and ADAM SCOTT.

PM Trudeau announced the appointment of MICHAEL H. TULLOCH as Chief Justice of Ontario and President of the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

MOLLIE ANDERSON , a veteran of two federal campaigns and four ministers' offices, leaves STEVE GUILBEAULT's office for a new job at Oceans North as senior conservation and climate adviser.

ELIZABETH ANDERSON opens up about her time away from MÉLANIE JOLY's office, where she's back as senior adviser on international security after a three-month break.

The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples enlisted the services of four Impact Public Affairs pros: NICK HAUTAMAKI, PIPER MCWILLIAMS, OLUWASIMISOLA FAMUYIWA and HAIFA AL-ARYAN. Top priority: secure representation on the National Council for Reconciliation promised by Bill C-29, which sits at second reading in the Senate.

— The legislation guarantees board positions on the council to the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Métis National Council, and the Native Women’s Association of Canada.

Spotted: German ambo SABINE SPARWASSER, spreading the word about the Canadian Red Cross Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal.

Northern Affairs Minister DAN VANDAL, thanking former PM JEAN CHRÉTIEN — a former holder of Vandal's portfolio — for "insight, expertise and thoughtfulness."

Alleged Laurentian elite ANTHONY KOCH, flaunting his Lululemon life choices: "Trust me man. I was a doubter too."

Media mentions: The Toronto Star's JOANNA CHIU is adding media and legal issues to her beats, on top of foreign affairs.

CTV Calgary anchor CHRIS EPP exits the airwaves after a long run: "Today, I am filing my final story as a journalist. By my rough count, I've done around 3,400 of them over the past 21 years."

→ Find upcoming House committees here

→ Keep track of Senate committees here

Monday’s answer: About 150,000 skaters used the C$8.2-million ice rink set up on Parliament Hill to celebrate Canada’s 150th.

Props to ROBERT MCDOUGALL and reader BRAM ABRAMSON, who noted to Playbook: “How they achieved such symmetry, I suppose we’ll never know.”

Tuesday’s question: Who is currently chair of the Council of Atlantic Premiers? Bonus mark: Who is next up?

Send your answers to ottawaplaybook@politico.com.

Want to grab the attention of movers and shakers on Parliament Hill? Want your brand in front of a key audience of Ottawa influencers? Playbook can help. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.

Playbook wouldn’t happen without: Luiza Ch. Savage and Sue Allan.

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