Update from Your Board March 31, 2022

 Message from the President

 Greetings all,

Spring has finally sprung! I hope you and your families are looking forward to the warmer weather that appears to be just around the corner.

First, thank you to those who supported GRIC and PAAC’s joint submission  to the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying on the proposed changes to the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct. Between the submission itself, a GRIC/PACC-led opinion editorial published in the Hill Times (note a subscription may be required), and another piece soon to be published in the Lobby Monitor, we are confident our message is being heard. We will continue these efforts with direct outreach to the Commissioner’s office in the weeks ahead.

I also want to take the time to thank those who registered and attended our St. Patrick’s Day social event at the Metropolitan Brasserie in support of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation and their efforts to raise funds for the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. Thanks to our members, GRIC is proud to have made a $1,000 donation to the Foundation. It was great to see so many familiar faces while supporting such a great cause.

Notably, you should have received an invitation to attend our 27th Annual Meeting of Members (AMM), which will be held virtually on May 26, 2022, at 11:00 AM EDT. I hope you will be able to attend. With the recent loosening of health restrictions, your GRIC board reviewed the option of hosting a hybrid AMM this year, however, decided against it due to the short timeframe to manage the significant increase in both complexity and cost. We will continue to endeavour to find opportunities to bring the membership together in-person, where it makes sense and is safe to do so, recognizing the importance of in-person opportunities to network.

Lastly, a Nominating Committee, consisting of a subset of the board, has been charged with overseeing the process of facilitating a slate of new candidates for the Board of Directors that will be voted upon at the AMM. The current Board of Directors will have five (5) vacancies created through the completion of term rotations. If you would like to self-nominate, please email the GRIC Secretariat with your expression of interest no later than 4:00 PM (Eastern Time) on Friday, April 8, 2022.

Thank you as always for your continued commitment to GRIC. I look forward to seeing many of you in the coming weeks around town on a sunny patio.

Jason Kerr President

Events Committee Update

It was great to have the opportunity host yet another social event in-person on March 17th – St. Patrick’s Day – at the Metropolitan Brasserie. We hope those attended were able to re-connect with colleagues after a long winter season. A special shout out to Earnscliffe Strategies, Counsel Public Affairs and Global Public Affairs for their sponsorship of this event which helped support our donation of $1,000 to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation to support the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. Looking ahead, the Events Committee is seeking to host a post-budget panel event – stay tuned for dates. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to Hunter Doubt, Chair of the Events Committee, to learn more about sponsorship opportunities, or to share any event ideas that might be of interest to the membership.

Legislative Affairs Committee Update

With the GRIC submission on the proposed changes to the Lobbying Code of Conduct now in the system, the Legislative Affairs Committee is seeking opportunities to follow-up with the Commissioner’s Office to support our submission one-on-one. We were also pleased to see GRIC and PAAC’s joint op-ed published in the Hill Times, entitled “Revised lobbyists’ code: solutions in search of problems.”

Soon we will be unveiling a provincial chart comparing the various lobbying rules in an easy-to-use reference document. This chart will be accessible to members only.

If you would like to share any thoughts, comments or concerns, please email the Chair of GRIC’s Legislative Affairs Committee, Kevin Bosch. We welcome your input. Thank you for your continued support in these efforts.

Future of Government Relations Committee Update

The Future of Government Relations Committee is excited to soon be conducting a survey on equity, diversity and inclusion with the membership. Details will follow in the coming weeks.

 If any questions, please reach out to Alana Baker, Chair of the Future of Government Relations Committee.

Membership Relations Committee Update

 The membership renewal process is now well underway. Thank you to all members for their patience in setting up their profiles and renewing their membership using our new membership database. While we recognize it is challenging to transition into a new system and that it requires everyone to take a few moments to adapt to the new platform, we are working hard to support you and to make sure you have everything you need to successfully complete your renewal. As we learn from this process, we are confident that it will result in a more simplified and streamlined process for you and your organizations.

Furthermore, we have recently sent out the 2022 Membership Survey to collect your feedback on GRIC and on what we can be doing to better serve you.  

In the meantime, for any questions or comments, please contact Lucas Veiga, Chair of the Membership Relations Committee.

 Professional Development Committee Update

We were very pleased to feature Dave Carey, Vice President of Government and Industry Relations with the Canadian Canola Growers Association, in our latest Profiling Excellence Series. If you have not already had the opportunity read our interview with him, you can access it here. We look forward to our next iteration in the Series to be published soon – stay tuned!

 We also hope to have more news on our next Young Professional Roundtable event in the near future.

 Please reach out to Jennifer Babcock, Chair of the Professional Development Committee, with any questions or concerns.

 Next Board Meeting

 The Board of Directors will meet on April 20, 2022.

 Communication with GRIC Members

An Update from your GRIC Board will be distributed to members following board meetings to provide highlights of the issues that the GRIC Board is working on and to report new developments pertaining to the government relations and public affairs community in Canada.

Should you have feedback concerning the information you receive from us, please contact the GRIC Secretariat (info@gric-irgc.ca) or Hunter Doubt, GRIC Board Member and Corporate Secretary. We look forward to hearing from you.