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Sonya Savage appointed Expert Panelist at the CCPC and Senior Public Policy Advisor at Navigator

Calgary, AB, January 25, 2024 – Former Alberta Minister of Environment and Protected Areas and Minister of Energy Sonya Savage joins the Canadian Centre for the Purpose of the Corporation (CCPC) as an Expert Panelist and, as a Senior Advisor, will also provide public policy advice to Navigator and its clients.

“I’m thrilled to join the Canadian Centre for the Purpose of the Corporation’s expert panel. The CCPC’s mission to support organizations in achieving impactful ESG objectives resonates deeply with the values I’ve championed throughout my career, as a lawyer, an energy executive and as a cabinet minister. But more, I look forward to being able to immerse myself in the challenging public policy issues Navigator’s clients deal with.”

“More and more, organizations are seeking advice as they work to balance the demands of delivering on their purpose and ESG commitments in an increasingly challenging environment. Sonya couldn’t be joining us at a more opportune time.” remarked Graham Fox, Executive Chairman of the CCPC and Navigator’s Ottawa Managing Principal.

Added Jason Hatcher, Navigator’s Calgary Managing Principal “We are delighted that, in addition to having Sonya join the CCPC’s expert panel, we will be able to call on her genuinely unique experience to provide our clients with public policy advice.”

Sonya can be reached at sosavage@blg.com.

About Sonya Savage

Sonya Savage was first elected in 2019 and served as the Minister of Energy for Alberta, successfully leading the province through a global pandemic and overhauling energy policy to accelerate sustainable investment. In 2022, she was appointed to Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, overseeing the ESG Secretariat and developing the province’s net-zero climate strategy. Currently, Savage serves as Senior Counsel at BLG, leveraging her lengthy pipeline industry experience and political career to provide expert advice to clients on a range of issues. She also holds a Master of Laws in Environment and Energy with a published thesis on the evolving role of the National Energy Board. Learn more

About the Canadian Centre for the Purpose of the Corporation

The CCPC is an initiative of Navigator, Canada’s leading high-stakes strategic advisory and communications firm. The Centre releases regular analysis and guidance for business based around the expectations of Canadians. These insights inform the design of tailor-made strategic solutions for businesses and organizations to define, advance, and implement their purpose.

The Centre is led by Graham Fox alongside a panel of experts in policy, governance, business, law, communications, equity and diversity, sustainability and social responsibility. Learn more

Federal Budget 2023

A (Too?) Timid Response to Challenging Times

Budget 2023 notionally delivers the response that had been expected of the government to address affordability issues facing Canadian families, reflects recent intergovernmental agreements on health care funding, and addresses the US administration’s “green industrial policy” investments. In actuality, the budget seems too timid a response to too many disparate policy and political imperatives to make a meaningful impact on any single one of them.

From a political perspective, the suite of measures aimed at addressing the rising cost of living is understandable. Exclusive public opinion data collected by Discover by Navigator in the days leading up to today’s budget confirm that addressing cost of living issues was the top priority of Canadians at 39 per cent, beating out lowering taxes (21 per cent) and reducing government spending (20 per cent). These measures will also serve to buttress the deal negotiated a year ago with the New Democratic Party, notably the additional investments in dental care – a long-standing NDP priority.

Like Budget 2022, which was shaped by rising inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Budget 2023 is more a response to outside pressures than the expression of the Government of Canada’s desired policy direction. The question is whether the measures announced today will constitute a robust enough response to the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, the demands of our increasingly strained health care system or the still-too-heavy burden of the rising cost of living on family budgets to make a meaningful; difference. Only time will tell, which may, in the end, be the one thing the government was playing for in designing this budget.

You can download our budget analysis here.

For more analysis, or support engaging government on any of the budget announcements, contact your Navigator team or reach out at info@navltd.com

The QP Briefing Podcast: Ontario election 2022 campaign debrief

This week, Brayden Akers was a panellist on the QP Briefing Podcast. Shownotes are included below, and you can listen to the episode on the QP Briefing website.

Doug Ford Got It Done™️ and will head another majority government. The panellists popped champagne to celebrate or commiserate.

Be sure to tune in, folks, and listen to NDP MPP Suze Morrison, McMillan Vantage’s Ashley Csanady, and Navigator’s Brayden Akers.

The QP Briefing Podcast: Ontario election 2022 week four roundup

This week, Brayden Akers was a panellist on the QP Briefing Podcast. Shownotes are included below, and you can listen to the episode on the QP Briefing website.

The fourth week of the Ontario election is on the books! This week saw the NDP and Liberals go at one another, while Doug Ford’s lead held steady. Be sure to tune in, folks.

The wonderful panel includes outgoing NDP MPP Suze Morrison, McMillan Vantage’s Ashley Csanady, and Navigator’s Brayden Akers.

The QP Briefing Podcast: Ontario election 2022 week three roundup

This week, Brayden Akers was a panellist on the QP Briefing Podcast. Shownotes are included below, and you can listen to the episode on the QP Briefing website.

The third week of the Ontario election is on the books! This week saw the leaders on stage at the TVO Debate in Toronto. Andrea Horwath and Mike Schreiner both got COVID, and the Liberals had a less-than-scandalous news conference. Be sure to tune in, folks.

Thanks to our wonderful panel: former NDP MPP Suze Morrison, McMillan Vantage’s Ashley Csanady, and Navigator’s Brayden Akers.