NDP alone oppose changes to the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct

Proposed changes to the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct completely gut the rules to allow lobbying at the same time as fundraising and campaigning for politicians

“This is one of the most unethical things that MPs have done in the past 30 years, and it will allow favour-trading between lobbyists and politicians that will corrupt all future federal policy-making processes,” Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch.

Democracy Watch is calling on the House of Commons Ethics Committee to reverse its support of changes to current lobbying rules proposed by the Commissioner of Lobbying, Nancy Bélanger.

Other than the NDP, all parties approved the Commissioner’s proposed new Lobbyists’ Code that will allow lobbyists to influence politicians and party leaders soon after fundraising or campaigning for them.

Conacher addressed the House of ethics committee in February to oppose key changes he says will gut the ethical lobbying rules.

The Commissioner of Lobbying was hand-picked by the Trudeau Cabinet in 2017 after the Liberals claimed Bélanger was the only qualified candidate.

Conacher maintains there were in fact at lease five qualified candidates who could have filled the role.

Bélanger, who was given the position to ensure ethical and transparent lobbying, has proposed changes to the Lobbyist Code of Conduct that would allow for unethical lobbying.

Currently, if a lobbyist campaigns in a significant way for a candidate or party during an election, or assists them with fundraising, event organizing, and distributing party materials between elections, they are prohibited from lobbying the politician or party for four years – a full election cycle.

The Commissioner proposed reducing that cooling off period to zero.

The Liberal, Conservative and Bloc MPs on the Committee approve of the Commissioner’s proposed changes to the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct that will allow lobbyists to covertly campaign and fundraise unlimited amounts of money for politicians and parties while lobbying them at the same time.

“It’s completely gutting the rules entirely and allowing lobbying at the same time as fundraising and giving other assistance to politicians,” Conacher told Small Change.

Conacher points out that unions also misunderstand the rule. The rule does require a person to sit out for one year if they are campaigning or fundraising on a full-time basis – 30 hours per week -- with extensive interactions with a candidate, politician, or party official.

Union representatives opposed even a one-year cooling off period for people doing up to 30 hours of campaigning per week because they believe it will keep people form doing low level volunteering, canvassing, and campaigning during elections.

According to Conacher that won’t happen because those volunteers can still do 29.9 hours per week and most likely won’t have frequent or extensive interaction with candidates.

“The one-year prohibition on lobbying would not apply to anyone doing low level canvassing or campaigning. In fact, it’s going to allow lobbyists to do 30 hours of campaigning and fund raising at the same time as lobbying Cabinet ministers, other politicians, and party leaders,” maintains Conacher.

He went on to say, “The changes will gut key ethical lobbying rules in ways that essentially try to legalize bribery by allowing for favour-trading between lobbyists and politicians that will corrupt federal policy-making processes.”

Conacher is referring to the Commissioner’s changes to the gift and hospitality rules. Currently, there’s a $40 limit on individual gifts and $80 hospitality limit per MP per year.

Between 2016 and 2021, the average political donation made by Canadians was $75 annually. Conacher says that’s the best indication of how much Canadians can actually afford to donate.

He believes lobbyists in Ottawa should not be allowed to gift politicians hundreds of dollars each year especially when MPs have expense accounts for hospitality and are paid within the top five per cent of salaries in Canada.

Conacher points out that lobbyists are doing favours for MPs while at the same time asking MPs for favours in return.

The NDP opposed the changes, but Conacher wants to know if the party is going to try to stop the changes by introducing a resolution in the House that would force MPs from other parties to publicly approve them.

In the Ethics Committee’s letter, MPs from all parties also indicated they want Commissioner Bélanger to additional legalized loopholes around gifts and hospitality.

The Committee wants lobbyists to be able to give ‘sponsored travel’ junket trips to MPs, their family members and associates. The Committee also wants to increase the annual limit for both gifts and hospitality to $200.

“It’s shocking that MPs on the Ethics Committee would call for loopholes to allow lobbyists to buy them off, essentially bribe them, with fundraising, favours, trips, gifts and wining and dining worth thousands of dollars each year,” said Conacher.

“The changes that the Ethics Committee wants are deeply unethical and will allow for corrupt favour-trading between lobbyists and politicians.”

Recently, the Globe and Mail’s editorial board joined Democracy Watch and 25 other citizen groups -- with a total membership of 1.5 million Canadians -- in calling on the Committee to reject key changes to the federal Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct because the changes will gut ethical lobbying rules in ways that will allow secret, unethical favour-trading between lobbyists and federal politicians.

More than 20,000 voters signed on to Democracy Watch’s petition on Change.org, its letter-writing campaign and sent emails to the Commissioner calling on Bélanger to stop undermining the Code, and calling on federal party leaders and the Committee to reject the Commissioner’s proposed changes.

An open letter was also sent to the Ethics Committee from 11 lawyers and 21 law and political science professors calling on the Committee to reject the Commissioner’s proposed changes.

They also want the Committee to reject the Commissioner’s claim that the current four-year lobbying prohibition violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Several Supreme Court of Canada rulings have clearly stated that Charter rights can be restricted to protect government integrity.

“If the Commissioner of Lobbying goes ahead with her proposed changes gutting key federal ethical lobbying rules, Democracy Watch will file a lawsuit challenging the new rules as they will violate voters’ constitutional democracy rights to government integrity, equal participation in policy-making processes, and adequate information to make voting decisions,” said Conacher.