January 19, 2007

Government Relations

Accountability Act casts wide net around work of potential "lobbyists"

PETER KENTER

correspondent

Depending on how meetings are arranged and their purpose, under changes to Canada’s Federal Accountability Act engineers, construction company employees and members of other professional organizations may find they’re now considered lobbyists — with heavy penalties for failing to identify themselves and their interactions with government.

Part of the Act, put in place in December, include a toughening of regulations under the Lobbyists Registration Act.

“Lobbying disclosure laws are here to stay,” says Sean Moore, a partner and public policy advisor with Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP. “Corporations and associations and a good many NGOs need to know that it’s no longer acceptable to say you have no idea or don’t care whether you are obliged to register under federal or provincial lobbying laws.”

Michael Nelson, registrar of lobbyists with the federal government, says the act attempts to define activities rather than people.

"You can call yourself whatever you want, but if you're communicating for pay with the government . . . then you may be required to register under the Act."

Michael Nelson

Lobbyist Registrar

“The things that triggers the need to register is communication with a public office holder for payment in respect of this list of items: developing legislative proposals; introduction, defeat or amendment of any bill; making regulations; development or amendment of policies or programs; and, awarding of grants, contributions or other financial benefits,” says Nelson.

“It also includes awarding of any contract—for consultant lobbyists only. If you hire someone to arrange meetings for you with the government, then that is a registrable activity.”

Nelson notes that the Act covers meetings with any public servant, including every member of the Canadian Forces, every member of the RCMP, and all government ministers, MPs and senators.

"Lobbying disclosure laws are here to stay"

Sean Moore

Public Policy Advisor

“I’m an engineer,” says Nelson. “We get engineers saying ‘Well, listen, I’m an engineer and I’m talking to the government on behalf of my client for this project but I’m not a lobbyist...’ You can call yourself whatever you want, but if you’re communicating for pay with the government — a remarkably large group of people— then you may be required to register under the Act.”

Lobbyists will be registered in a public database available online. The register will include the nature of the lobbying, which officials the lobbyist will be contacting, how that contact will be made and how often contact is made.

Penalties for failing to register as a lobbyist could involve fines of up to $25,000 and six months in jail. But failing to register may also limit a person’s access to government officials. “More and more minister’s offices are calling us to let us know that they’re refusing to see people who aren’t on the registry,” says Nelson.

The administrative work associated with registering lobbyists involves specific timeframes and compliance. “It’s one thing if you’re a large company and you’ve got administrative assistants to do this on your behalf,” says Nelson. “Small organizations may have to organize themselves a little bit differently in order to track the lobbying activity going on.”

The new lobbying regime does have some grey areas — at what point, for example, does a simple request for information become an act of lobbying? Moore warns accountability laws shouldn’t be allowed to become too onerous. “Some of the evolving features of federal lobbying law may be bringing us closer to accountability overload,” he says.

“So-called transparency rules may produce more illusions and obstacles than helpful insight into how governments really makes decisions.”

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