Was the Ontario’s Conservative Government being lobbied by pharmaceutical companies during the pandemic?

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

When laws are passed, and decisions are made in Canada, how many of you feel that you are truly represented?

You go out during voting season, cast your ballot, and for the most part hope for the best. Are you satisfied with how this has turned out so far, and if not, what can be done to change that.

Well, the act of lobbying is one way that individuals and organizations can articulate their interests to: federal, provincial, or municipal governments to influence public policy or government decision-making. With lobbying, it is all about influence; organizations pay big money to have third parties to communicate on their behalf. At the federal level here in Canada, lobbying activities are governed by the Lobbying Act, and provinces and municipalities usually have their own lobby laws and by-laws. As in most activities played out in society, laws need to be applied: lobbying is no different.

Definition Check-In

The word lobby comes from the German word louba (noun), which means “hall or roof.” The term, which took hold during the Enlightenment era, stems from the public buildings and common halls where legislation was passed.

From this basic definition, we can see that lobbying is political in nature, which might explain why people are suspect of the ethics and honesty of lobbyists.

We are going to look at what is happening here in Canada, and you will overstand why lobbying gets the side eye. Conflict of interest has historically been lobbying Achilles heel, and for good reason. Unlike a citizen or company trying to influence a law or legislator, lobbyists are paid to influence. It’s for this reason that lobbying is sometimes compared to bribery, or extortion.

Before we go any further, I want to repeat something; professional lobbyists are PAID to assist others to represent their concerns to the government. What happens when that person was already part of the government that they are supposed to convince?

This story is going to revolve around a sensitive topic for some of us; vaccines. This story was originally exposed in 2021 but is worth a revisit. It seems that Ontario’s Conservative government was being lobbied by pharmaceutical companies during the pandemic. AstraZeneca is one of the companies that has been inappropriately using their political influence in order to peddle their drugs. Ever wonder why Ford insisted on maintaining martial law until everyone was vaccinated? Look at who he’s been talking to, and who has been talking to him.

I went and took a look at the Ontario Lobbying Registry which is open to the public. Anyone can search it, and for any reason. It’s particularly useful in determining who politicians have been talking to, on whose behalf, and on what subject matter. It really can be a gold mine if used properly. Let’s do a little mining.

Nadia Yee worked as a manager for GlaxoSmithKline for several years. Her role was to get more drugs out to the public. She is currently a Senior Manager for AstraZeneca. Before becoming a drug lobbyist, she worked in the Government of Mike Harris/Ernie Eves, the “Conservatives” in power before Ford.

Jon Feairs started off in the Interim Program in the Ontario Legislature. He then went to work for M.P.P. Mike Gravelle (a Liberal). He then went on to hold several roles in the Government under McGuinty and Wynne.

Ryan Lock held several roles in different Ministries of the Liberal Governments of Wynne/McGuinty, before he joined GlaxoSmithKline in 2016.

A more recent name that has come to light is Jessica Georgakopoulos. She has been lobbying for GSK. Keep in mind, she worked in Ford’s Office, and was his “Covid Communications Director” for a time (Conflict of Interest).

Georgakopoulos went from working with Ford’s Government on its “pandemic” response, to trying to convince them to buy drugs related to that response. Hmmmmm! (Conflict of Interest).

Lobbyists say they simply want to make sure your elected officials “Hear and understand both sides of an issue before making a decision.”  How can you do this effectively when both sides of the issue benefit YOU! Not the public, not our communities, not the people, YOU!

Corporations spending billions of dollars to pay people with access to influence politicians has been and continues to be a slippery slope into corruption.