Selected Work

Outcomes, not case studies.

Discretion is core to Adelaide’s practice — clients are anonymized, situations described in the abstract. The outcomes, however, are real.

01
Healthcare

Righting One of Canada’s Greatest Healthcare Injustices

Challenge
  • ✦For more than five decades, survivors of one of Canada’s worst pharmaceutical tragedies had received little meaningful long-term support, despite living with increasingly complex disabilities and rapidly deteriorating health.
  • ✦Many survivors were reaching a crisis point as aging parents — who had often served as their primary caregivers — were no longer able to provide physical or financial support.
  • ✦Successive federal governments had examined the issue, but no comprehensive long-term solution had been implemented.
  • ✦The campaign required building awareness among decision-makers and the Canadian public while developing a practical, financially credible policy solution capable of securing support across political parties and within government, with less than a year before a scheduled federal election.
Approach
  • ✦Working alongside a remarkable national task force of survivors, legal counsel, and advocates, helped develop and execute a comprehensive government relations, public affairs, and media strategy to build support for long-term federal action.
  • ✦Commissioned research and international policy analysis comparing compensation and support models from other jurisdictions, while helping develop an evidence-based framework for a Canadian program.
  • ✦Worked closely with national media to bring renewed public attention to the ongoing challenges facing survivors, culminating in award-winning national coverage that fundamentally changed public awareness of the issue.
  • ✦Developed and implemented a comprehensive parliamentary engagement strategy involving Members of Parliament from all recognized parties, senior government officials, and the Minister of Health to build consensus around a sustainable long-term solution.
  • ✦Supported complex discussions and negotiations with Health Canada officials and political decision-makers to help shape the design of a program that reflected the varying needs of survivors while minimizing administrative burden and ensuring long-term financial security.
Outcomes
  • ✦The campaign culminated in a unanimous vote of the House of Commons calling on the Government of Canada to provide meaningful long-term support for survivors — an extraordinary demonstration of all-party consensus.
  • ✦The campaign sustained broad national and international media coverage, especially by The Globe and Mail.
  • ✦The Government of Canada subsequently announced the Thalidomide Survivors Contribution Program, including a lifetime, indexed financial support program, a tax-free lump-sum payment, and an Extraordinary Medical Assistance Fund valued at approximately $250 million.
  • ✦The program fundamentally changed the quality of life for Canada’s remaining thalidomide survivors and has since been expanded through additional improvements based on recommendations advanced by the Task Force and consultations with the survivor community.
  • ✦The campaign has since been recognized as one of Canada’s most successful examples of coordinated public affairs, government relations, strategic communications, and evidence-based policy advocacy.
02
Infrastructure

Infrastructure Funding for a National Sports Venue

Challenge
  • ✦Securing federal and provincial infrastructure investment to replace a nationally significant sports venue in Toronto and position it to host future international competition.
  • ✦Despite its national profile, the organization had limited relationships with any order of government and virtually no structured community engagement.
  • ✦The project also unfolded during a period of limited alignment between the three orders of government.
Approach
  • ✦Designed and led a multi-year public affairs strategy that simultaneously built political support, strengthened community relationships, and aligned federal, provincial, and municipal interests around a shared infrastructure objective.
Outcomes
  • ✦Secured a multi-government infrastructure commitment to construct a new national sports centre, announced by the federal and provincial governments and broadcast internationally.
03
Infrastructure

New Campus for a Major Post-Secondary Institution

Challenge
  • ✦Helping a leading post-secondary institution secure government investment to expand access to higher education through the development of a new campus in one of Canada’s fastest-growing cities.
Approach
  • ✦Developed an integrated government relations and stakeholder strategy that aligned the project with provincial and federal priorities, while building broad support among community leaders and decision-makers.
Outcomes
  • ✦Secured more than $30 million in combined federal and provincial infrastructure funding to support construction of the new campus.
04
Consumer Protection

Strengthening Consumer Protection to Address One of the Province’s #1 Consumer Complaints

Challenge
  • ✦Illegal and aggressive sales practices by emerging home service providers had become one of Ontario’s largest consumer protection issues, undermining consumer confidence and disadvantaging responsible incumbent service providers.
Approach
  • ✦Led two province-wide advocacy campaigns that united municipalities, consumers, industry stakeholders, and government around comprehensive legislative reform.
Outcomes
  • ✦The Province enacted legislative reforms on two separate occasions, significantly strengthening consumer protections and fundamentally changing Ontario’s regulatory framework for door-to-door sales activities. The campaign achieved significant media attention across a spectrum of provincial media.
05
Provincial Policy

Reversing a Provincial Policy Commitment

Challenge
  • ✦A major provincial policy decision threatened significant impacts on a host municipality and stakeholders in the Greater Toronto Region.
Approach
  • ✦Developed an evidence-based advocacy strategy that repositioned the issue, proposed a practical policy alternative, and generated sustained stakeholder and media support.
Outcomes
  • ✦Government reversed its original policy direction and adopted a substantially revised approach that addressed the municipality and stakeholder concerns.
06
Legislation

Legislative Amendment to High-Profile Government Legislation

Challenge
  • ✦Securing a critical legislative amendment during consideration of a highly contentious government bill where dozens of competing amendments had been proposed.
Approach
  • ✦Developed a focused government relations campaign that differentiated the client’s proposal, built support among key decision-makers, and demonstrated why the amendment addressed a significant policy gap.
Outcomes
  • ✦The client’s proposal became the only stakeholder amendment adopted during the legislative process.
07
Mining & Resources

Regulatory Approvals for a Major Mining Modernization Project

Challenge
  • ✦Supporting regulatory approvals and Indigenous consultation for a significant modernization investment at an operating mining facility while addressing community concerns regarding environmental impacts.
Approach
  • ✦Designed a comprehensive public affairs, community engagement, and government relations strategy involving municipal leaders, provincial and federal regulators, Indigenous communities, and local residents.
Outcomes
  • ✦Helped secure the regulatory approvals and community support necessary to enable a capital investment exceeding $100 million (CAD) in infrastructure and operational improvements.
08
Municipal Finance

Reforming Police Cost Formula for Municipalities

Challenge
  • ✦Several municipalities faced disproportionately high policing costs under Ontario’s provincial funding formula for OPP services.
Approach
  • ✦Built a coordinated advocacy campaign that united similarly impacted municipalities around a practical policy solution addressing the Province’s most significant funding inequities.
Outcomes
  • ✦Government reformed the police cost model to address extreme outliers, which became a permanent change to the provincial formula.
09
Municipal & Land Use

Municipal Approval Rights for a Sensitive Land Use

Challenge
  • ✦A proposed land use in one municipality posed significant impacts for a neighbouring community while exposing a broader gap in Ontario’s municipal planning framework.
Approach
  • ✦Transformed a local issue into a province-wide policy discussion by building support among municipalities, stakeholders, and provincial decision-makers.
Outcomes
  • ✦More than 150 municipalities endorsed legislative reform, ultimately leading to provincial legislation granting municipalities new approval authorities over this unique and sensitive land use.
A note on confidentiality

Where an engagement remains confidential, client names and identifying file details are withheld and the situation is described in the abstract. The work, and the outcomes, are real.

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