The Sixth Estate

Three days have now passed since the dishon. Peter MacKay threatened to sue his critics for libel, and Sixth Estate has not received any requests to take down posts “attacking his credibility.”

I’m in the middle of revising and republishing another of my regular features, the Lobbyist Tracker, and offer the following morsels for readers interested in the seedy intersection where cash and politics meet:

• Chris Froggatt used to be minister John Baird’s chief of staff; now he’s the managing partner for the National Public Relations lobbying firm. It would be illegal for Froggatt to lobby the government directly, but his colleagues’ clients include Canadian Renewable Fuels Association and General Electric. Also at National, as “senior consultant,” is Baird’s deputy chief of staff, Cara Salci, and Conservative Resource Group insider Matt Triemstra.
  
• Ensight Canada, which I’ve repeatedly referred to as a Conservative propaganda outfit, has added another recent departure from the federal party. Lindsey Scully spent the last three years working as the policy director for minister Josee Verner, and before that spent three years working as a correspondence writer for Stephen I.
  
• Sherritt International, a mining and energy firm, has hired Conservative-tied PR and lobbying outfit Ensight Canada to lobby for them on greenhouse gas emissions. Their new shill is Will Stewart, who was caught illegally fundraising for the Conservatives a while back.
  
• Nexter Group Systems has hired former Liberal defence minister David Pratt to hawk their combat vehicles to his former department. Pratt works at GCI, also home to close Harper advisor Ken Boessenkool. Pratt is a former Defence Minister.
• Speaking of former Liberals, Bryon Wilfert, who was turfed from office this spring, is now working for the Tactix lobbying firm as “senior strategic advisor.”