Technology companies increasingly lobby the Canadian federal government. The Tech Lobby Project regularly submits Access to Information (ATI) requests for records relating to lobbying communications between Canadian federal government departments and companies such as Amazon, Facebook, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Netflix, Twitter, Sidewalk Labs and Uber. Read more about our ATI requests here. Below you can find a list of the documents we’ve received recently in response to our ATI requests.
You can subscribe to receive a list of descriptions of recent ATI responses we have received by monthly email by signing up to our monthly email listserv here. For more information, or to access the documents themselves, please email Sara Bannerman at banners@mcmaster.ca.
Amazon Web Services Canada
| Document Link | Reference |
| The Treasury Board received training from Amazon Web Services to develop digital identity credentials. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-01642 Submitted to Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) for Records Related to a ’All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #539490 Involving Shirley Ivan, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Treasury Board Of Canada Secretariat (TBS) and Amazon Web Services Canada, Inc. on July 22, 2022. ’ (Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), 2022), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
| The Government of Canada engaged in a digital transformation discussion with Amazon Web Services, as evidenced by an email exchange between Mr. Wagner and the Directing Manager of Transformation at AWS. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-01652 Submitted to Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) for Records Related to a ’All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #516895 Involving Paul Wagner, Assistant Deputy Minister, Transformation, Treasury Board Of Canada Secretariat (TBS) and Amazon Web Services Canada, Inc. on November 18, 2021. ’ (Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), 2021), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
| SSC and Amazon Web Services presented their reflections on the past 2 years of their partnership. The presentation covered their experiences with the GC Cloud initiative and discussed opportunities to improve their collaboration. The list of key participants and the agenda were available, but the presentation itself was not included. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-00384 Submitted to Shared Services Canada (SSC) for Records Related to a “All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #514689 Involving Sony Perron, Executive Vice President, Shared Services Canada (SSC) and Amazon Web Services Canada, Inc. on September 07, 2021” (Shared Services Canada (SSC), 2021), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
| The SSC and Amazon Web Services partnership presentation covered their reflections on the past 2 years. The focus of the partnership was the GC Cloud initiative, where they discussed their joint experiences and identified opportunities to improve their collaboration. Although the presentation itself was not included, a list of key participants and an agenda was provided. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-00384 Submitted to Shared Services Canada (SSC) for Records Related to a “All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #514689 Involving Sony Perron, Executive Vice President, Shared Services Canada (SSC) and Amazon Web Services Canada, Inc. on September 07, 2021” (Shared Services Canada (SSC), 2021), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
| Amazon Web Services (AWS) contacted the National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister to initiate a discussion about their assistance measures in Ukraine and the surrounding region. The collection of documents related to this contact includes a memorandum and speaking notes. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-00558 Submitted to Privy Council Office (PCO) for Records Related to a ’All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #528512 Involving Martin Green, Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Privy Council Office (PCO)and Amazon Web Services Canada, Inc. on March 30, 2022. ’ (Privy Council Office (PCO), 2022), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
| Scheduled meeting between Sony Perron and Gabrielle Shead. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-00374 Submitted to Shared Services Canada for Records Related to a “All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #534420 Involving Sony Perron, President, Shared Services Canada (SSC) and Amazon Web Services Canada, Inc. on May 31, 2022” (Shared Services Canada, 2022), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
| Amazon Web Services (AWS) contacted the National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister in order to discuss their assistance measures in Ukraine and the surrounding region. The collection of documents accompanying the contact includes a memorandum and speaking notes. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-00558 Submitted to Privy Council Office (PCO) for Records Related to a “All Records Relatingto Registered Lobbying Communication #528510 Involving Jody Thomas,National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister, Privy CouncilOffice (PCO) and Amazon Web Services Canada, Inc. on March 30, 2022” (Privy Council Office (PCO), 2022), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
| Amazon Web Services (AWS) contacted the National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister to initiate a discussion regarding their assistance measures in Ukraine and the surrounding region. The collection of documents provided includes a memorandum and speaking notes. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-00558 Submitted to Privy Council Office (PCO) for Records Related to a “Allrecords Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #512894 Involving Shawn Tupper, Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Privy Council Office (PCO)and Amazon Web Services Canada, Inc. on July 07, 2021.” (Privy Council Office (PCO), 2021), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
| Document includes some undisclosed information regarding Amazon’s finances, products and initiatives. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request ATI2024-002 Submitted to Business Development Bank of Canada for Records Related to a “All Records(All Notes, Documents, Drafts, Electronic Documents, Emails, Memos, Preparatory Meeting Notes, Reports and Presentations…Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication 535334 Involving Miguel Barrieras.” (Business Development Bank of Canada, 2022), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
Oracle Canada
| Document Link | Reference |
| Oracle’s Vice President requested a meeting with Mr. Wagner to discuss Federal CIOs and engage in a conversation about Canada’s broader agenda of accelerating workload migration, cloud adoption, and other related topics, as indicated by an email exchange. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-01677 Submitted to Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) for Records Related to a ’All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #491552 Involving Paul Wagner, Interim Chief Technology Officer, Treasury Board Of Canada Secretariat (TBS) and Oracle Canada on November 16, 2020. ’ (Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), 2020), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
IBM Canada Ltd.
| Document Link | Reference |
| IBM has requested a meeting with the National Research Council (NRC) to discuss quantum computing. The meeting aims to explore the potential launch of a National Quantum Strategy spanning seven years (2021-2027) with a budget of $360 million. The discussion will include IBM’s presentation on their discovery accelerator, which took place on Wednesday, March 10. Additionally, IBM inquired about the NRC’s interest in partnering to deploy their quantum computer platform. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-56 Submitted to National Research Council (NRC) for Records Related to a “All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #517778 Involving Iain Stewart, President, National Research Council (NRC) and IBM Canada Ltd. on November 29, 2021. All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #502234 Involving Mitch Davies, President, National Research Council (NRC) and IBM Canada Ltd. on March 10, 2021. Please Send All Documents as a PDF File.” (National Research Council (NRC), 2021), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
| There will be a meeting between ECCC (Environment and Climate Change Canada), IBM, and SSC (Shared Services Canada) to discuss their collaboration. The meeting will focus on system upgrades, government plans, and potential risks. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-00376 Submitted to Shared Services Canada for Records Related to a ’ All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #517776 Involving Sony Perron, Executive Vice-President, Shared Services Canada (SSC) and IBM Canada Ltd. on November 09, 2021.’ (Shared Services Canada, 2021), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
| The documents include an email correspondence between the Executive Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) (Filipe Denis) and Louise Bosquet, Sheena van Veen and Louse Carter with IBM. The contents discuss setting up a meeting/call. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2023-00019 Submitted to Bank of Canada for Records Related to a ’“All Records (All Notes, Documents, Drafts, Electronic Documents, Emails, Memos, Preparatory Meeting Notes, Reports and Presentations (Exclude Cabinet Confidences), Relating to Registered Lobbying Communications 540176 (Involving Tiff Macklem, Filipe Dinis and Sylvain Chalut)’ (Bank of Canada, 2021), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
Google Cloud Canada Corporation
| Document Link | Reference |
| Pat Dorsey has requested a meeting to discuss tourism analytics and how it can assist the PEI government. The meeting agenda will cover various topics such as climate resilience, healthcare, government community, smart transportation solutions, and tourism. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-00020 Submitted to Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) for Records Related to a “All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #520087 Involving Patrick Dorsey, VP, PEI and Tourism, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and Google Cloud Canada Corporation on Dec 9/2021” (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), 2021), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
Uber Canada Inc.
| Document Link | Reference |
| The documents include email correspondence between Uber Canada, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and the Privy Council Office (PCO). They discuss arranging a meeting to review the progress on the National agreement. The ongoing correspondence and presentation delve into the role of Uber as an employer in Canada. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-00562 Submitted to Privy Council Office (PCO) for Records Related to a “All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #535900 Involving Lisa Setlakwe, Assistant Secretary, Privy Council Office (PCO) and Uber Canada, Inc. on May 05, 2022” (Privy Council Office (PCO), 2022), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
| The documents include email correspondence between Uber Canada, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and the Privy Council Office (PCO). They discuss arranging a meeting to review the progress on the National agreement. The ongoing correspondence and presentation delve into the role of Uber as an employer in Canada | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-00562 Submitted to Privy Council Office (PCO) for Records Related to a “All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #523296 Involving Jeff Waring, Director General, Privy Council Office (PCO) and Uber Canada, Inc. on January 25, 2022.” (Privy Council Office (PCO), 2022), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
| The documents include email correspondence between Uber Canada, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and the Privy Council Office (PCO). They discuss arranging a meeting to review the progress on the National agreement. The ongoing correspondence and presentation delve into the role of Uber as an employer in Canada. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-00562 Submitted to Privy Council Office (PCO) for Records Related to a ’ All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #535898 Involving Rodney Ghali, Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Privy Council Office (PCO) and Uber Canada, Inc. on May 05, 2022.’ (Privy Council Office (PCO), 2022), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
| The document includes an email exchange where Uber initiates a meeting with Public Safety Canada to discuss their Law Enforcement Operations Initiative. Uber is dedicated to safety, and they would like to share what they are doing with their Law Enforcement Response Team (LERT). | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-00387 Submitted to Public Safety Canada (PSC) for Records Related to a “All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #514261 Involving Myriam Potvin, Executive Director, Public Safety Canada (PS) and Uber Canada, Inc. on August 10, 2021.” (Public Safety Canada (PSC), 2021), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
Microsoft Canada Inc.
| Document Link | Reference |
| The document includes an email correspondence, research on Brad Smith for the Minister and what topics they can expect to discuss in the meeting prepared for Minister Champagne meeting with Brad Smith, President and Chief Legal Officer, Microsoft Corporation. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-00961 Submitted to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) for Records Related to a “All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #496320 Involving François-Philippe Champagne, Minister, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and Microsoft Canada Inc. on January 26, 2021” (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), 2021), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |
| The document includes an email correspondence discussing Bill C-11 and plans. Notes following business consultations with the Canadian Chamber’s Digital Economy group and ISED. Speaking notes on the importance of telecom matters: policy direction, spectrum, telecom security and universal broadband fund. | Government of Canada, Access to Information Request A-2022-00959 Submitted to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) for Records Related to a “All Records Relating to Registered Lobbying Communication #535105 Involving Mark Schaan, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and Microsoft Canada Inc. on May 31, 2022.” (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), 2022), http://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information. |