New lobbying rules to change little in the world of lobbying: critics
Under the FAA, lobbyists will have to keep a list of meetings with public servants which could create a chill in the government-relations industry, says one critic.
The federal government's sweeping new lobbying rules will change little in the world of lobbying, say its critics.
The proposed act, tabled last week, intends to clamp down on what have been viewed for years as loosely-enforced registration rules and weak laws surrounding ethically questionable practices, such the payment of "success" or contingency fees to lobbyists on the successful win of a contract, loan or grant.
For years government ethics critics have said that the lobbyist registrar, Michael Nelson, has not had the proper resources to enforce the Lobbyist Registration Act, which requires paid lobbyists to disclose their names, clients and which departments they are lobbying, into a publicly accessible, online registry.
But several of the new rules are more to change the perception that the rules are changing, say some of the proposed act's critics. Under the new rules, for example, the act says that public servants will be asked to play a larger role in the enforcement of the lobbying rules. The Conservative government has proposed that the registrar get
more resources and staff to exercise his authority, that he be able to make random calls on present and former public officials to confirm the accuracy and completeness of lobbyists' filings.
But Gord McIntosh, a consultant lobbyist at Association House, said that public servants are already checking and verifying information that lobbyists register.
"They're already doing that," Mr. McIntosh said. "If you register, you get this pro forma phone call, going over what you've filed or emailed to them, and that's why there's a delay of about two weeks before your registration actually shows up on the website," Mr. McIntosh said, adding that public servants are also already checking whether lobbyists are registered.
"If you phone a government office these days, and I mean it's been like this for several weeks, and you say, 'Hi, I'm so-and-so, from so-and-so, calling on behalf of so-and-so, could I speak to the chief of staff please?' They're asking, 'Are you registered?' It's quite legit. It's just common sense."
Mr. McIntosh suggested that many of the proposals in the 200-plus page bill may be excessive or superfluous, and that some of them are more politically driven than real enforcement measures.
"Well, obviously this is driven by politics more than public policy. It's just political," he said.
The Federal Accountability Act, or Bill C-2, proposes to create a new Lobbying Act, which would make the lobbyist registrar an independent officer of Parliament, removing his accountability to Cabinet and the perception that he is not independent; give the registrar the power to summon people, documents and evidence for investigations; prohibit lobbyists who have contravened the act from lobbying again for two years; report violations of the act to Parliament; compel lobbyists to file monthly reports listing their contacts with public servants; ban the use of contingency fees; create a five-year cooling off period in which senior officials and ministers cannot lobby government; and double the criminal and monetary penalties for infractions of the law.
Critics have for years pointed out that lobbyist registration has not been properly enforced and that secret lobbying continues. The proposed lobbying section in the accountability bill proposes to give the registrar more resources to enforce the new lobbying rules.
Liberal MP Paul Zed (Saint John, NB), a former lobbyist, said that the measures are more geared toward creating the perception that lobbyists are being dealt with harshly when in reality they will not bring in measures to greatly affect lobbying in Ottawa, because, for the most part, he said, lobbyists are playing by the rules.
"Frankly, I don't see that there are major problems. I think it's a little bit of a tempest in a teapot," he said. Whenever the rules are changed, he said, lobbyists listen carefully. He agreed with the proposal to make the registrar an independent officer of Parliament not because he has a real conflict of interest as someone accountable to Cabinet, but to remove the perception that there is a conflict of interest, he said. "The reality is that there's no big eureka here. There's no huge, fundamental shift that's occurred as a result of this legislative initiative, and frankly, it's more spin than it's substance."
Although Mr. Zed said he supports many aspects of the lobbying measures found in Bill C-2, such as banning the use of contingency fees, Mr. Zed said he does not support the provision for lobbyists to create a list meetings between themselves and public servants because it will create a chill on the government-relations industry.
"I think that's going to shut down government," he said. "What people don't realize is that [lobbying] is not the guy or the gal calling the public servant to hustle a deal for a client. Ninety-five per cent of lobbying in this country is consultation on public policy. It could be the Cancer Society being called by the Department of Public Health to understand what the impact would be to smoking cessation legislation," he said.
But Aaron Freeman, a law instructor at the University of Ottawa, a regular Hill Times columnist and co-author of The Laws of Government, told The Hill Times that public servants have to assume some degree of responsibility to make enforcement effective, and that the government should do random spot checks and make demands for verification of lobbying to serve as an enforcement mechanism.
"[They should be] encouraging people in departments to check the lobbyist registry, so that the people who are lobbying them understand that they are registered. That kind of monitoring is very important," Mr. Freeman said. "I don't think it's a duty that should fall to every public servant, but there should be that kind of monitoring, both within the registrar's office and also within government departments and agencies as well."
Mr. Freeman said that until recently lapses in enforcement of lobbyist registration were not necessarily due to a lack of resources, but partly due to a lack of diligence in the government. If lobbyists suddenly perceive that the government is getting tough on them, even if it's not necessarily changing much in practice, it will affect way lobbying is done, he suggested.
"There are a lot of lobbyists that don't take this act seriously, and [there is] the perception that the government is taking it seriously, and part of that perception is going to be an officer of Parliament who has independence and real power. I think that will encourage the lobbying industry to pay attention," Mr. Freeman said.
The government says that there are more than 4,700 registered lobbyists federally, 700 of which are consultant lobbyists. Another 270 work directly for corporations and 350 for other organizations.
A senior official in the government, who was involved in the legislation, told The Hill Times that the new provisions will increase the ability to validate lobbying activity.
"They will be required, when asked to verify, information that's being provided by lobbyists," said the official. He ensured that if a lobbyist is not registered and tries to meet with government officials, there will be penalties.
"You'd be in violation of the act," he said. "You would not be able to do that. That doesn't arise as a problem. Anybody who does lobbying should be registered. Anybody who is registered needs to list their contacts with senior public office holders." Sdoyle@hilltimes.com The Hill Times
http://www.thehilltimes.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=/2006/april/17/lobbying/&c=1
Under the FAA, lobbyists will have to keep a list of meetings with public servants which could create a chill in the government-relations industry, says one critic.
The federal government's sweeping new lobbying rules will change little in the world of lobbying, say its critics.
The proposed act, tabled last week, intends to clamp down on what have been viewed for years as loosely-enforced registration rules and weak laws surrounding ethically questionable practices, such the payment of "success" or contingency fees to lobbyists on the successful win of a contract, loan or grant.
For years government ethics critics have said that the lobbyist registrar, Michael Nelson, has not had the proper resources to enforce the Lobbyist Registration Act, which requires paid lobbyists to disclose their names, clients and which departments they are lobbying, into a publicly accessible, online registry.
But several of the new rules are more to change the perception that the rules are changing, say some of the proposed act's critics. Under the new rules, for example, the act says that public servants will be asked to play a larger role in the enforcement of the lobbying rules. The Conservative government has proposed that the registrar get
more resources and staff to exercise his authority, that he be able to make random calls on present and former public officials to confirm the accuracy and completeness of lobbyists' filings.
But Gord McIntosh, a consultant lobbyist at Association House, said that public servants are already checking and verifying information that lobbyists register.
"They're already doing that," Mr. McIntosh said. "If you register, you get this pro forma phone call, going over what you've filed or emailed to them, and that's why there's a delay of about two weeks before your registration actually shows up on the website," Mr. McIntosh said, adding that public servants are also already checking whether lobbyists are registered.
"If you phone a government office these days, and I mean it's been like this for several weeks, and you say, 'Hi, I'm so-and-so, from so-and-so, calling on behalf of so-and-so, could I speak to the chief of staff please?' They're asking, 'Are you registered?' It's quite legit. It's just common sense."
Mr. McIntosh suggested that many of the proposals in the 200-plus page bill may be excessive or superfluous, and that some of them are more politically driven than real enforcement measures.
"Well, obviously this is driven by politics more than public policy. It's just political," he said.
The Federal Accountability Act, or Bill C-2, proposes to create a new Lobbying Act, which would make the lobbyist registrar an independent officer of Parliament, removing his accountability to Cabinet and the perception that he is not independent; give the registrar the power to summon people, documents and evidence for investigations; prohibit lobbyists who have contravened the act from lobbying again for two years; report violations of the act to Parliament; compel lobbyists to file monthly reports listing their contacts with public servants; ban the use of contingency fees; create a five-year cooling off period in which senior officials and ministers cannot lobby government; and double the criminal and monetary penalties for infractions of the law.
Critics have for years pointed out that lobbyist registration has not been properly enforced and that secret lobbying continues. The proposed lobbying section in the accountability bill proposes to give the registrar more resources to enforce the new lobbying rules.
Liberal MP Paul Zed (Saint John, NB), a former lobbyist, said that the measures are more geared toward creating the perception that lobbyists are being dealt with harshly when in reality they will not bring in measures to greatly affect lobbying in Ottawa, because, for the most part, he said, lobbyists are playing by the rules.
"Frankly, I don't see that there are major problems. I think it's a little bit of a tempest in a teapot," he said. Whenever the rules are changed, he said, lobbyists listen carefully. He agreed with the proposal to make the registrar an independent officer of Parliament not because he has a real conflict of interest as someone accountable to Cabinet, but to remove the perception that there is a conflict of interest, he said. "The reality is that there's no big eureka here. There's no huge, fundamental shift that's occurred as a result of this legislative initiative, and frankly, it's more spin than it's substance."
Although Mr. Zed said he supports many aspects of the lobbying measures found in Bill C-2, such as banning the use of contingency fees, Mr. Zed said he does not support the provision for lobbyists to create a list meetings between themselves and public servants because it will create a chill on the government-relations industry.
"I think that's going to shut down government," he said. "What people don't realize is that [lobbying] is not the guy or the gal calling the public servant to hustle a deal for a client. Ninety-five per cent of lobbying in this country is consultation on public policy. It could be the Cancer Society being called by the Department of Public Health to understand what the impact would be to smoking cessation legislation," he said.
But Aaron Freeman, a law instructor at the University of Ottawa, a regular Hill Times columnist and co-author of The Laws of Government, told The Hill Times that public servants have to assume some degree of responsibility to make enforcement effective, and that the government should do random spot checks and make demands for verification of lobbying to serve as an enforcement mechanism.
"[They should be] encouraging people in departments to check the lobbyist registry, so that the people who are lobbying them understand that they are registered. That kind of monitoring is very important," Mr. Freeman said. "I don't think it's a duty that should fall to every public servant, but there should be that kind of monitoring, both within the registrar's office and also within government departments and agencies as well."
Mr. Freeman said that until recently lapses in enforcement of lobbyist registration were not necessarily due to a lack of resources, but partly due to a lack of diligence in the government. If lobbyists suddenly perceive that the government is getting tough on them, even if it's not necessarily changing much in practice, it will affect way lobbying is done, he suggested.
"There are a lot of lobbyists that don't take this act seriously, and [there is] the perception that the government is taking it seriously, and part of that perception is going to be an officer of Parliament who has independence and real power. I think that will encourage the lobbying industry to pay attention," Mr. Freeman said.
The government says that there are more than 4,700 registered lobbyists federally, 700 of which are consultant lobbyists. Another 270 work directly for corporations and 350 for other organizations.
A senior official in the government, who was involved in the legislation, told The Hill Times that the new provisions will increase the ability to validate lobbying activity.
"They will be required, when asked to verify, information that's being provided by lobbyists," said the official. He ensured that if a lobbyist is not registered and tries to meet with government officials, there will be penalties.
"You'd be in violation of the act," he said. "You would not be able to do that. That doesn't arise as a problem. Anybody who does lobbying should be registered. Anybody who is registered needs to list their contacts with senior public office holders." Sdoyle@hilltimes.com The Hill Times
http://www.thehilltimes.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=/2006/april/17/lobbying/&c=1