Blackridge Strategy was paid by the Middlesex-London Health Unit to lobby the Ford government to fund the city's supervised drug consumption site, documents obtained by CBC News show.

The company was paid more than $6,300 to advocate for funding, help with the business case for a permanent site, and make sure Medical Officer of Health Chris Mackie was on the provincial consultation committee looking at supervised consumption facilities, the documents show.

The work was done in the months following the provincial election, with the health unit receiving an invoice in August 2018. Eight months later, Blackridge would register as a lobbyist for a group in direct opposition to the health unit's goals.

Drewlo Holdings retained Blackridge in April 2019 to advocate against the permanent supervised consumption site being located on York Street, the location preferred by the health unit.

Earlier this week, the province rejected the health unit's funding application for the York Street site.

Working two sides of an issue, as Blackridge did, is unheard-of among reputable lobbyists in Ontario, said Charles Bird, the managing principal of the Toronto office of Earnscliffe Strategy Group, a consulting agency.

"The less than charitable would describe that as duplicity," Bird aid.

"In the public affairs industry, a firm's reputation is everything and it's not something to be sacrificed for short-term self-interest. Reputation is something that has to be built and sustained over many years and companies that take a different approach tend to wind up on the scrap heap."

'It was a surprise'

Mackie told CBC News he first met with Blackridge Strategy owner Patrick Sackville in the summer of 2018, after Doug Ford was elected premier.

"We hired Patrick Sackville to open doors and build relationships with the provincial government," Mackie told CBC News.

Sackville, then the owner of Blackridge, was almost immediately hired by the premier's office, and Mackie said he was led to believe the health unit's file was passed onto Jake Skinner, who is now a co-owner of the firm with Amir Farahi.

Skinner is also a school board trustee.

But Mackie said he had no idea Farahi would be working on the health unit's file. The surprise came last summer when Mackie was driving to a meeting with the minister of health and the deputy premier and wanted to touch base with Blackridge. Instead of Skinner getting on the phone, it was Farahi.

"I knew he (Farahi) lobbied against 446 York and 372 York before that, and so it was a surprise to me that that file had been handed to him. I didn't know he was part of Blackridge until then," Mackie said.

In March, Farahi called the proposed location at 372 York street "inapproriate."

Jake Skinner and Amir Farahi own Blackridge Strategy. (facebook.com and twitter.com)

Despite listing the premier's office and the ministries of health and long-term care, municipal affairs and housing, and community safety and correctional services as targets of its advocacy on an invoice for the health unit, Blackridge Strategy does not appear to have registered as a lobby group.

Mackie said he was ultimately happy with the work done by Blackridge, but wouldn't have hired the company if he knew Farahi was handling the health unit's file.

"We needed someone who would open doors and the relationship with government was strong and we were able to develop a strong supervised consumption program. I'm happy we took the steps we did."

CBC News has reached out to Blackridge for comment.