Don Cherry was there too but it wasn't lobbying
Ottawa (31 Aug. 2007) - An investigation by the federal registrar of lobbyists has concluded that Don Cherry and the president of the makers of the drug COLD-fx did not break federal lobbying rules, despite going to Parliament Hill last fall, meeting with MPs and cabinet ministers and holding a private meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Yes, the CV Technologies Inc. delegation did participate in the meetings without registering as lobbyists, Michael Nelson, the federal registrar, admits.
Yes, company president Jacqueline Shan did voice frustration over delays in getting approval from Health Canada to make certain claims of benefit to her company in the marketing of COLD-fx.
And yes, the approval of Health Canada was granted some months later, causing the shares of CV Technologies to soar 85% on the Toronto stock exchange.
But no, there was no lobbying under accountability rules passed with great fanfare by the Harper government after it came to power in 2006.
Why? Because the new Harper rules exempt lobbyists from registering if their lobbying activities account for less than 20% of their duties.
And since the CV Technologies meetings on Parliament Hill did not last very long, there was no real lobbying.
Don't take the government's world for it. The registrar of lobbyists says so.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring that our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
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