Tag Archives: Mark Carney

The Art of Influence: The how and why of Lobbying

The recent Investigative Journalism Foundation exposé on lobbying, prior to Mark Carney’s first budget, fits a familiar pattern. Industry logged hundreds of hours of consultation with government officials. By way of contrast, the environmental sector has little representation. They are not even mentioned in this report! What does this mean? Cortes Currents asked Jennifer Lash, who has been both the founder of a non-profit society and a senior government analyst, for her insight into why the system is important and how it works.

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Here’s who lobbied for key measures in Mark Carney’s first budget

By Carly Penrose, Bethany Lindsay, Investigative Journalism Foundation, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Last week’s budget included billions in new spending and cuts that affected climate policies, defence spending, technology and taxation. 

An IJF analysis reveals that in the months and weeks leading up to the budget’s release, dozens of organizations registered to lobby and recorded hundreds of communications with public office holders on some of the very measures announced in Mark Carney’s budget.

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Liberal Budget survives Non-confidence vote

On November 17, Canada’s Liberal Government narrowly survived a non-confidence vote on the Budget: 170-168. It passed because Green Party MP Elizabeth May supported the motion and four other opposition MPs abstained.

May told reporters that up until Question Period on the day of the vote, she had not seen any evidence that Prime Minister Mark Carney was going to try to address the climate crisis, or Indigenous reconciliation. Many Greens urged her to help bring the government down. 

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BC transmission line risks repeating Site C failures: critics

 Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

The rush to develop BC’s $6-billion North Coast Transmission Line risks charging down the same troubled path of poor oversight and cost over-runs faced by the Site C dam, critics warn, pointing to a new report.

At the end of October, BC Hydro provided the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) with its Site C “lessons learned” report, which outlined why the Peace River project costs nearly doubled to $16 billion from the original $8.8 billion figure in 2014. 

The North Coast Transmission Line (NCTL), which will power natural gas operations, LNG export facilities, mining and the Prince Rupert port expansion, is the next big-ticket item tackled by BC Hydro. 

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What did the 2025 Budget Mean for North Island Powell River?

See: Liberal Budget survives Non-confidence vote 

Monday November 17, 2025 – Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is expected to face another non-confidence motion today. This will be the third non-confidence motion this month, which the opposition parties have made in regard to the 2025 budget. In this morning’s interview, Jennifer Lash, the liberal candidate for this riding during the last election, explains why the budget is good for North Island Powell River, and why it’s good for climate action.  

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