Federal Lobbying Commissioner Nancy Bélanger is calling for tighter lobbying rules in Ottawa, saying that every instance of “oral communication” between lobbyists and MPs, ministers, or officials should be disclosed for transparency.
The commissioner also said there is a “lot of lobbying occurring [in Ottawa] that we don’t know about” because not all lobbyists’ interactions with lawmakers are legally required to be disclosed.
Bélanger noted the federal government only requires that pre-scheduled meetings between officials and lobbyists be recorded in the federal Registry of Lobbyists—leaving unchecked casual or informal encounters at events or restaurants.
Bélanger added that this requirement should be updated to cover both registered and unregistered lobbying of the federal government so as to impose “transparency by default.”
Beyond requiring all interactions be disclosed, Bélanger also wants lobbyists to be legally required to give more details about what they discussed in meetings with senior civil servants, ministers, senators, MPs, or other federal officials.
Loopholes
The new code will include a “sense of obligation” clause that will restrict lobbying by any public office holder deemed to be in a situation where the official they are lobbying for “could reasonably be seen to have a sense of obligation to you because of political work, paid or unpaid.”The revised code will define “political work” in a broader sense to include a number of activities often carried out by campaign volunteers, such as “soliciting or gathering donations,” among other actions.
The group says the new rules will allow people to do important campaign work for a politician, then lobby them shortly afterward. Democracy Watch says the sense of obligation clause gives lobbyists an unfair advantage.
