Melissa Caouette Consulting

We are incredibly grateful this group could come together and volunteer for a few hours last month with on a busy Saturday morning.

Our firm works with non-profits doing amazing work under the leadership of incredible humans in the community (including the fearless leading the Calgary Food Bank!)

It is such a pleasure to have an opportunity to witness the impact the Food Bank has in real-time. The planning, organization, compassion, and kindness we witnessed was truly remarkable.

We learned so much from the hard-working team and volunteers. The holiday season is a busy time for this organization (especially with the cost-of-living challenges).

If you can, we encourage you to share your time or resources in whatever way you can by reaching out to the Calgary Food Bank directly to see how you can help. 🫶🏻

Post-Election Presentations can be a useful way to bring your organization up to speed following a big political event–like a provincial election.

⏰ 1-hour sessions covering relevant people, policies, politics
💻 Virtual or in-person options
📌 Tailored to your industry or sector

We’ll be in and this month. If you’re interested in working with us, reach out for more details.

A client-consultant relationship can be complex at times when expectations aren’t aligned.⁠
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Here are some things we love to incorporate into our government relations engagements to maximize client value:⁠
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✅ Agreement on strategy and approach⁠
🧭 A plan with objectives, timelines, KPIs⁠
🤳 Regular check-ins by phone, text, or Zoom⁠
📧 Written updates on the status of the plan⁠
📋 Memos on how political events impact strategy⁠
🗓️ Formal strategic refresh every 9-12 months⁠
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Political risk is business risk, therefore government relations engagements should be subject to the same level of accountability as other management consultants, with an understanding that greater flexibility may be required given the high degree of uncertainty.⁠
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What’s been the next experience you’ve had with a lobbyist? ⬇️

Talking to the government ≠ Government Relations

Government relations is strategic. It has a purpose. It complements organizational objectives. It is collaborative. It is coordinated.

How do you define government relations? ⬇️

Organizations are unsuccessful with their lobbying efforts because they decide what's important as though they exist in a vacuum.⁠
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To figure out where you should lobby, draw a Venn Diagram:⁠
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Circle 1️⃣: A list of government’s priorities.⁠
Circle 2️⃣: A list of your organizational priorities.⁠
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Which items overlap? Which two to three are the most important? The answer to those questions should inform your lobbying efforts.⁠
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Government relations is all about risk mitigation.⁠
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Your lobbyist should empower your organization to anticipate, interpret, and mitigate political risk.⁠
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A lobbyist is most effective when you engage them before you think you need them.⁠
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Read more about our approach: https://www.mcconsultinginc.ca/blog/our-approach⁠
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On Wednesday, March 30, Alberta’s Minister of Finance Hon. Travis Toews, introduced Bill 13, the Financial Innovation Act.

The purpose of Bill 13 is to help diversify Alberta’s economy by making it easier for finance and fintech companies to develop new products and services. This “regulatory sandbox” would be the first of its kind in Canada, although this concept is already being used in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom to create tech jobs and keep those regions on the cutting edge of financial technology.

Here are a few key points:

> The Act would allow companies to have access to Albertans’ private information *within strict parameters and only with that person’s permission.*
> It would apply to existing legislation, including the ATB Financial Act and the Consumer Protection Act.
> Companies that benefit from the Act would have to have a physical presence in Alberta, have their names and details of the programs to be disclosed on a public website, and they could face fines of up to $100,000 for a first offence and $200,000 for subsequent violations of the Act.

The Financial Innovation Act could be a game changer for financial technology in Alberta, including cryptocurrency and blockchain; insurtech, paytech, personal finance/wealthtech, regulatory tech, crowdfunding, and software. If passed, it could truly disrupt the financial services industry, thereby forcing an industry that has been slow to change to innovate or die.

What are your thoughts on Bill 13? Will this Act result in the intended effect of attracting more tech investment to Alberta?

How much will the Liberal-NDP confidence and supply agreement cost Canadian taxpayers?

Canada's Minister of Finance, Hon. Chrystia Freeland will table the federal budget this Thursday, April 7. There doesn't seem to be any sign of decreasing spending in Budget 2023, even after we start to normalize from the pandemic.

A recent Scotiabank report estimates that the commitments outlined in the Liberal-NDP confidence and supply agreement will cost Canadian taxpayers approximately $15–20 billion over the three-year life of the pact, while an inevitable tail to these commitments would likely put the 5-year total closer to $40 billion.

The massive spending during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a near doubling of the federal debt, which is projected to reach $1.25-trillion in 2022-23.

During the last fiscal update in December 2021, the federal government projected that the size of the federal deficit would decline from $327.7-billion in 2020-21, to $144.5-billion in 2021-22 and $58.4-billion for the 2022-23 fiscal year that begins on April 1.

However, these projections were released before the Liberal-NDP confidence and supply agreement and the war in Ukraine.

⬇️⬇️ I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! Read more via via the link in bio.

Proud of the amazing work is doing across the province to empower young people with financial literacy, career readiness, and entrepreneurship training skills.

Even more proud of the work they are doing to empower young women to learn these skills in the classroom and in the community.

This morning’s 4th Annual Leadership Breakfast, sponsored by , showcased some inspiring leaders in moderated by ().

Key takeaways and learnings?

▪️ .shivji (): The opportunity cost of not investing in women is $1 trillion. Articulate to prospective investors: “why now and why you?” and don’t forget to remember the emojis: 😊🤯🙏

▪️ (.rallie): Community builds confidence. Courage is in shorter supply than genius. Normalize to equalize.

▪️ Jamie Kline (): Sales is not a dirty word. Take chances and ask yourself: “Will I regret this if I say no?”

When people think or suggest that being a good lobbyist is only about “who you know” or “selling access,” it makes me cringe. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Being a good lobbyist (in-house or consultant) is more about being a good person: someone people enjoy working with, who works hard, who is respectful, and who puts forth creative, innovative ideas that align with the government’s policy agenda and are possible within the confines of how government functions. 📖 🎨 🤔 💡

When you decide who to hire for your government relations and public policy needs, make sure the person embodies all of these things. ✅

What do you value in a government relations professional? Comment below. ⬇️ 💭

Spotted during this week discussing the vital role communities will play in emissions reductions goals over the next several years.

I learned a lot of interesting ways in which this can happen in contruction from () which underscores the importance of getting together for these important conversations even if we can’t seem to find obvious policy overlaps.

Even though I’m based in I love seeing perspectives represented at these important conversations. Agree or disagree with the content of what is being discussed, we can’t find solutions that work for every 🇨🇦 without considering different perspectives.

Newsletter 011 | The devil you know.

Conservatives are quick to eat our own, but is that really a winning strategy?

Part of one’s duty as a small-c conservative is to keep your little blue book handy, just in case fellow travellers ever want to challenge your beliefs, read: your ideological purity.

With the CPC leadership race well underway and a challenge to Premier Kenney's leadership on the horizon, there's no shortage of discussion about what it means to be a conservative.

Conclusion (of sorts?): Let's remember the choice is not between us or our fellow travellers, but our ideological opposites; the devil you know is almost always better than the devil you don’t.

SUBSCRIBE to my newsletter for a weekly dose of:

▪️My thoughts on current events and political culture.
▪️Important updates
▪️Comprehensive synopsis
▪️Comprehensive synopsis

Thought leadership is one of the ways I hope to positively contribute to Canadian political culture.

I’m also a consultant that provides public policy, government relations, and strategic advice offerings for organizations seeking to understand western Canada.

DM me if you’re interested in connecting to see how we might be able to work together.

Newsletter 010 | Be informed, or be sane.

We're two and a half months into 2022 and the million-dollar question for engaged citizens appears to be: should I inform myself, or protect my sanity?

We've all felt it—even those of us that make a living by keeping up with the news. Lately, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't rather Keep up with the Kardashians.

With the 24-hour news cycle and a Twitter-sphere that seems to never sleep, the amount of information to process on any given day, or week, or month is beyond comprehension for most people who don't live and breathe this stuff.

SUBSCRIBE to my newsletter for a weekly dose of:

▪️My analysis of current events and political culture
▪️Important updates
▪️Comprehensive synopsis
▪️Comprehensive synopsis

Thought leadership is one of the ways I hope to positively contribute to 🇨🇦 political culture.

🙋🏻‍♀️I’m also a public policy professional offering government relations and strategic advice services for organizations seeking to understand western Canada.

DM me if you’re interested in connecting to see how we might be able to work together.

Wonderful to be back in-person in yesterday with the Transform: Energy Summit.

Key learnings from the day:
▪️Think of energy transition as energy transformation or energy addition.
▪️Change happens over time; every option should be on the table.
▪️”Net-zero” is not, and will never be “zero”
▪️Hydrogen is going to be BIG for the energy sector.
▪️We’re moving into a period of assumed disruption; embrace the change!

Tomorrow, on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, British Columbia's Finance Minister, Hon. Selina Robinson, will table B.C.'s 2022-23 Fiscal Plan.

I’ll be hosting a free, 30-minute webinar reviewing the need-to-know information contained in B.C.'s Budget 2022 on Wednesday, February 23, 2022 at 12:00 pm PT (You must register through the Luma link here: https://lu.ma/mcconsulting2022bcbudget).

Registered attendees will receive:

✅ A copy of the presentation
✅ A copy of the webinar recording
✅ A detailed budget briefing document

For organizations interested in an industry- or company-specific analysis, please reach out to me directly to discuss how we might be able to work together.



https://lu.ma/mcconsulting2022bcbudget

British Columbia Post-Budget Debrief | MC Consulting - Zoom Join Melissa Caouette the day after the 2022 British Columbia Budget is tabled in the Legislature for a concise summary of everything you need to know as a business owner, government...

Later this week, on Thursday, February 24, 2022, Alberta’s Finance Minister, Hon. Travis Toews, will table Alberta’s 2022-23 Fiscal Plan.

With high oil prices, unemployment down, and rising interprovincial migration, this provincial budget is likely to forecast good news for Alberta’s provincial economy.

🗓 I’ll be hosting a free, 30-minute webinar reviewing the need-to-know information contained in Budget 2022 on February 25, 2022 at 12:00 pm MT (register through the Luma link here: https://lnkd.in/gcZ4KvCi).

Registered attendees will receive:
✅ A copy of the presentation
✅ A copy of the webinar recording
✅ A detailed budget briefing document

For organizations interested in an industry- or company-specific analysis, please reach out to me directly to discuss how we might be able to work together.



https://lu.ma/mcconsulting2022albertabudget

Alberta Post-Budget Debrief | MC Consulting - Zoom Join Melissa Caouette the day after the 2022 Alberta Budget is tabled in the Legislature for a concise summary of everything you need to know as a business owner, government relations...

Before the and budgets are tabled next week, consider these three common misconceptions:

#1: The budget is simply a framework
#2: Much is outside of government control
#3: Taxes aren’t a large source of revenue

Interested in reading more? Check out my blog post on how to understand provincial budgets in Canada.