April 27, 2012

TSA Wins Awards of Excellence for Media Relations and Brand Building

Memorable, impactful communications stands out, delivers its message, builds brands, sells product and adds to corporate presence. Meaningful results are always our goal but we have to admit a picking up a few awards along the way is nice – and a great complement to the joy of spring.

Last night more than 300 of public relations practitioners gathered in downtown Toronto for the Canadian Public Relations Society's ACE Awards to recognize the best of strategic thinking, creativity - and measurable results.

Thanks to a very talented and skilled team of communications specialists, TSA was awarded for excellence in media relations and brand-building with:

• Best Brand Development Campaign of the Year
• Best Media Relations over $50,000
• Best Media Relations under $50,000

Clarke R. Cross joins Temple Scott Associates

TSA is delighted to announce that Clarke Cross will join TSA as Senior Counsel.

Clarke brings to TSA more than ten years experience as a government relations practitioner in Ottawa.  Prior to this, he worked in politics and journalism, including serving as a legislative and communications aide to a number of Conservative Caucus members.    Clarke holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Montreal’s Concordia University, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Canadian History from the University of Calgary, and a diploma in Broadcast Journalism from Calgary’s Mount Royal University.

“Clarke brings a very high level of experience and professionalism to our growing public affairs practice,” said Ian Anderson, TSA President.  “His knowledge of government, media and the public affairs arena fits exceptionally well with TSA’s areas of excellence.”

Lisa Stilborn, TSA’s Chief Operating Officer, added: “Clarke’s knowledge of government operations and policy in the energy, infrastructure, agriculture and trade fields both compliment and add to our firm’s expertise and the value and services we provide to our clients.”

Founded in 1990, TSA is wholly Canadian-owned and fully integrated public affairs firm with offices in Ottawa and Toronto.  TSA provides government relations counsel on federal, provincial and municipal issues to clients headquartered in Canada, the United States and around the world.

Spring 2011

Companies That Ignore Government Relations Do So at Their Peril

by Duncan Rayner, Vice President at TSA

This article appeared in the Spring 2011 issue of Bishop's University News.

Explaining the value of government relations is not easy, especially when the theatrics, partisanship and general dysfunction of Parliament is the sum total of most people's exposure to politics. With the exception of procurement, in which a company is selling something to government, it is difficult to point to tanglible financial outcomes from engagement in government relations That can make what is a critical part of any organization's business strategy an easy target for cost-cutting. Read more . . .

Winter 2010

The State of Lobbying in Canada

by W. Scott Thurlow, Vice President at TSA

This article appeared in the Winter 2010 issue of Catalyst magazine.

Lobbying is a legal activity, but it also is the democratic right of individual Canadians to petition the government. In doing so, Canadians inform debate from many different perspectives, leading to better public policy. Concerns about the influence of lobbyists, however, have led to considerable regulation recently. On Sept. 20, Treasury Board President Stockwell Day announced changes to the designated public officeholder provisions of the lobbying reporting regulations. Read more . . .

Winter 2010

New Obligations of MPs Under the Lobbying Act

by W. Scott Thurlow, Vice President at TSA

This article appeared in the Winter 2010 issue of Canadian Parliamentary Review.

In response to a debate about the access that former MPs have in the corridors of power, Treasury Board President Stockwell Day announced that the rules for designated public office holders would be expanded to include MPs, Senators, and the senior staff in the Office of the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons and in the Senate. After a comparatively short public comment period, the new rules went into effect in concert with the return of Parliament on September 20th, 2010. This article looks at the results of some of the changes. Read more . . .

August 30, 2010

Former MP Continues Anti-Graft Crusade

by Tom Hawthorn

This article appeared in the August 30, 2010 issue of The Globe and Mail.

As a young man, Roy Cullen perused the books of an oil firm doing business in Indonesia. The articling chartered accountant was asked to confirm the accuracy of certain calculations. The numbers added up, but he became curious as to their purpose. He learned to his dismay that the large sums - millions of dollars - were being placed in a Swiss bank account for the benefit of an Indonesian general. Many years later, after a career in the British Columbia public service, Mr. Cullen won a by-election for the Liberals in a Toronto-area riding, taking a seat in the House of Commons. Read more . . .

Summer 2010

Some Observations on the State of Lobbying in Canada

by W. Scott Thurlow, Vice President at TSA

This article appeared in the Summer 2010 issue of Canadian Parliamentary Review.

Lobbying is a legal activity and indeed an important part of the democratic right of individual Canadians to petition the government. In so doing, Canadians inform debate from many different perspectives and this should lead to better public policy. Concerns about the influence of lobbyists have led to considerable regulation of lobbying including changes stemming from the Federal Accountability Act. This article looks at some of the issues facing lobbyists and those who regulate lobbying. Read more . . .