BGC’s Blog


March 12 2020

In Honour of Women's Week - Women in Leadership Roles - Margaret Hanlon-Bell


As part of a continuing series in honour of women in leadership, I am extending women’s week – another week. I will be writing about the women in leadership that have had a great impact on my life, and with whom I am humbled to have worked with. These experiences have enriched me, helped me grow – both personally and in business, and have left me with lasting and meaningful relationships that I can only hope provide a fraction of reciprocal value.

Today’s featured leader: Margaret Hanlon-Bell

I met Margaret 10 years ago working at my first Government Relations gig. She represented a few different clients I worked with over several years. As such, we would spend many hours talking on long road trips. I'd often relate my challenges in the business world to her and she would help me navigate those, but not before keenly listening in order to properly diagnose the circumstance.

After which, when I left that organization and started my own consultancy, she would graciously take my calls and meet for coffee to help mentor me as I grew my business.

I will never forget Margaret’s generosity in sharing her wisdom; her patience while listening to a young person's challenges; and her infectious laugh that was tied to an incredible sense of humour. Her major impact on me was in teaching me the importance of generosity in providing mentorship to a younger generation. Perhaps not quite at her level yet, I am trying to mentor those that I can with her as the benchmark.


February 20 2020

A Few Noisy Coins A’rattlin’: Coastal GasLink pipeline and the Wet'suwet'en Nation


The Canadian government is in the unenviable position of having to navigate the Wet'suwet'en solidarity protests/blockades. These blockades have been effective in their ability to get the attention of the public by disrupting economy and enraging Canadian citizens; they have also made the current federal leadership look uncertain as to their next step forward, which frankly I completely understand. Though many conservative media outlets have used this unfortunate circumstance to bash the current government by describing them as indecisive, the federal government is in a situation in which they cannot currently produce an outcome that will be positive.

One of the main reasons is that the general populous is characterizing this blockade as a "first nation issue", essentially painting all first nations with the same brush (nothing could be further from the truth, and I will get to this a bit later). Having spent the first part of my career working alongside first nations, I can safely say that the majority of first nations have leadership that are looking for positive ways to impact their economy, to help support jobs, as many leaders understand that a strong economy is the foundation to developing a healthy and happy community. Environmental concerns are often secondary when leadership is tasked with fighting for the lives of their community (suicide, addictions, abuse etc).

Despite this, many non-aboriginal Canadians have little background or interaction with first nation communities and their leadership, so what they end up seeing and understanding comes from the media coverage of these communities. Many times media coverage of first nation communities show protests or blockades. Therefore, this blockade seems to fit within the same sensibilities as all the rest, that is to the person with little to no connection to first nation communities (which is most of the population).

This presents a problem for the current government. If it weren't for the unfortunate and incorrect public perception on this blockade as being indicative of first nations thinking on the Coastal GasLink pipeline, it would make sense for the current government to pursue a forceful removal of the blockade. However, any forceful incursion on the blockade will look like the leadership has spoken out of both sides of their mouth on first nation issues - as this government has gone farther than any other government at attempting reconciliation, at least in words and good intentions. In the event that the government were to remove the blockade, then it l would look like, when push comes to literal shove, that reconciliation efforts were just empty words, and that when the economy is at stake the current government reacts like every other "colonialist" government.

Therefore I can excuse the current government's concern about making a rash, knee-jerk decision here, and applaud them for considering the next step very carefully. The media has been trying to educate the public that the Wet'suwet'en Nation, its leadership and most of its community, have agreed to the Coastal GasLink pipeline, as most communities would. It has been widely documented that the Wet'suwet'en Nation not only support the project, but see it as a way for the community to flourish. The more the media expresses this truth, will mean that the Canadian government can make a decision on removing this group of outliers. For as the saying goes "a few coins in an empty piggy-bank make a lot more noise than one that is filled."


January 24 2020

Rex Murphy's Satirical Message on Carbon Tax

Rex Murphy, the Canadian king of satirical political commentary, wrote an article that was published in the National Post on January 20th 2020 entitled "We're freezing! Isn't it great? The carbon tax must be working!"

Using this satirical article as spring board, here I will be discussing the types of policies that cause mistrust with voters and are symptoms of a political system that needs an overhaul.

What is Murphy really poking fun at?

Murphy uses the climate change issue to highlight the disingenuous nature of political posturing as a means to garner votes. Unfortunately, like many policies that are developed (regardless of the party that develops them) they are masked in messages that appeal to their base but are in fact intended for other purposes. In this case, the carbon tax is a means of collecting taxpayer dollars without having to raise taxes while branding the message for voters consumption using a sexy topic - climate change and taxing corporations.

Every government produces policies such as this. I am certain, given that Rex Murphy writes for the National Post - a conservative paper, that his political leanings are Conservative. However, these kinds of policies find their way into any and every government mandate, regardless of their colouring, and are the symptoms of a broken political system; a system who’s aim is votes and not honesty. The question remains, is honesty what is best for voters? Greater minds than mine have attempted and failed to overhaul a political system rife with protecting those in power.


January 13 2020

Federal Conservative Leadership Elections - Just the Beginning

On January 13th, the federal Conservatives launched their leaderships race, following the resignation of Andrew Scheer. Candidates thought to be favoured for running are: Erin O'Toole, Pierre Poilievre, Jean Charest, and - of course, Peter MacKay.

A brief thing about voting and leadership campaigns: it tends not to favour the most powerful politician. The second most powerful one usually wins, as the internal political battle (after the initial vote) favours the less powerful candidate. I will say no more here.

Based on this, my money is on Poilievre.

As an opinion on the candidates, I believe Poilievre is a great choice. I have had the privilege to hear him speak on many topics and believe him to be caring, thoughtful and hard-working. Not many politicians give that off. My concern is that he might not be able to handle the next election vs. a much more charismatic Trudeau. As we saw in the past election, despite Trudeau's many egregious political missteps, Scheer's lack of charisma lost him an election that should have been "a walk in the park" (this is not a partisan comment, I am not a conservative, Liberal or NDP supporter. I truly thought that given the massive controversies under Trudeau's belt, his chances of winning another election were slim). I like the youthful aspect to Poilievre, vs. say, Charest.

Now, Charest is charismatic, very experienced and can battle Trudeau in Quebec. My fear is that his experience, although very valuable, can also mean that his politics are ancient. Canadian politics are tending towards a youth movement: a change in old-school politics and ideology - which is a good thing. Having said that, I don't believe Charest has a real chance of winning.

It will be Poilievre or McKay - but as I find myself telling those who ask: if anyone tells you that they can predict an election, turnaround and walk away.


January 09 2020

How Businesses Can Grow With the Help of a Government Relations and Government Engagement Strategy

Every business should be engaging in government relations, whether as part of their own businesses strategy or as part of a coalition. Why? At the core of every government relations strategy is the need and/or desire to grow, earn more, increase the bottom line.
Despite this, for a small to medium-sized business, a government relations strategy can seem "out-of-reach", or "not-within-our-scope", or plainly too difficult to access due to capacity issues or a basic lack of knowledge of what is available. Many resign themselves to thinking, "we are not there yet."

This is simply not true.

There are many ways to engage with government that will help small business grow. This blog will briefly outline the ways your small or medium sized business can be supported by a government relations strategy.

There are four general categories of engaging with government:

  • Advocacy
  • Grants
  • Loans
  • Business Services

Each of these categories can have its own strategy or can be one element of a larger strategy.

Advocacy:

Advocacy occurs when the government needs to understand changes or gaps in your industry (that ultimately effects the bottom line). Why does the government care to hear from you? The government cares for several reasons. Your industry related issue is likely a symptom of a larger problem that can affect economy. Making sure businesses are successful, cashflow positive and thriving means that voter and constituents are happy earners. Keeping voters as happy earners is a government priority. Happy constituents mean more votes. Advocacy and its process also helps to develop relationships with key decision-makers.

A small to medium sized business engaging in a government relations strategy is likely to find greater success in advocating for the industry as part of a larger coalition or as part of an industry association. There are exceptions to the rule in regard to businesses that are innovating within their industry.

Grants:

Whether federally, provincially, municipally or even regionally, there can be grants available to your business. This is usually dependent on the industry and how that industry fits within the mandate of the current government, meaning if your industry falls into the mandate of what has helped get the current government elected; or will help them get re-elected. Grant writing is a skill that can be developed over time. It is an arduous process but can significantly change the trajectory of a business.

Loans:

Government often provides low-interest loans with favourable payback conditions. As part of reducing the risk of investment, government will provide these options to business. The process is almost the same as the government grant process (in fact many granting agencies also provide loans within the same programs). These loans, again, can change the trajectory of a business.

Business Services:

There is often a plethora of no-cost services that can significantly assist a business grow. Government is often looking to help educate business on new processes, new business practices, help them network and help them access global markets.

Despite the potential risk in terms of time and finances, there is a significant opportunity for all businesses to explore government relations and government engagement strategies that can have an unprecedented effect on the growth of your business. Any business can be significantly impacted by one or more of advocacy, grants, loans or business services. As a result, all business should seek to engage government.
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