OTTAWA—Canada’s former ambassador to the United States has been cleared of illegally lobbying federal government officials. Lobbying Commissioner Nancy Belanger says David MacNaughton did not violate the Lobbying Act last year when he had dozens of communications with senior officials about government policy and its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Belanger says MacNaughton had 49 communications with federal officials between January and May 2020 and in 31 of them, he offered the pro bono services of his current employer, Palantir Technologies Canada, a data analytics company, in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. But because those communications were short and did not constitute a “significant part” of his work for Palantir, Belanger says they didn’t violate the act. Last September, ethics commissioner Mario Dion concluded that MacNaughton had violated the Conflict of Interest Act by taking “improper advantage” of his former position. Dion ordered nine senior officials, including two cabinet ministers, to …