The proposed regulations set out the administrative measures necessary for lobbyists to comply with the new registration requirements under the Lobbying Act, including the types of lobbying communications that must be registered in monthly returns.
An additional set of regulations prescribe certain positions, including those in the Canadian Forces and the Privy Council Office, as being occupied by designated public office holders under the Lobbying Act. Officials occupying these positions will join hundreds of others already included under the new Lobbying Act provisions. The new regulatory and statutory provisions on lobbying will be administered by the new Commissioner of Lobbying upon coming into force.
The changes brought by the Lobbying Act will give the new Commissioner of Lobbying the independence and necessary powers to ensure that lobbying is done in a transparent and ethical way.
http://news.gc.ca/web/view/en/index.jsp?articleid=370999
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Government Publishes New Rules For Lobbyists
Posted on Saturday, January 05 at 12:30 by N SayContributed By
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By Sue Bailey And Jim Bronskill, THE CANADIAN PRESS<br />
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Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch, a group that fights for high ethical standards in government, derided the draft regulations as "more of a loophole than a rule." <br />
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He seized on the phrase "made orally and arranged in advance" in the criteria for contacts that must be publicly logged. <br />
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"It's so easy to avoid disclosure. You call a public office holder, they're not there. Don't leave a message . . . because that could be deemed to be arranged in advance. You just call their secretary and ask when they'll be in," he said in an interview. <br />
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"I do not think there will be any new information or communications between lobbyists and public office holders disclosed at all." <br />
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The Tories promised in the last election to "clean up" Ottawa, Conacher noted, saying the proposals fall far short of truly publicizing efforts to sway decision-makers. <br />
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Lawyer Guy Giorno, a leading expert on lobbying law, said the wording could be an invitation to lobby over casual meetings at watering holes and restaurants, since such contacts are not arranged in advance. <br />
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"I personally think it weakens the act. I think it sort of goes back on what Parliament expected. I would hope that they close that loophole," he said. <br />
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"The public is actually probably more interested in what happens at a bar or restaurant at nine at night than what happens in a boardroom at nine in the morning." <br />
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<a href="http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/01/04/4753321-cp.html">http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/01/04/4753321-cp.html</a><p>---<br>"George Bush has declared the war on terrorism to be the cause of his generation. The cause of Canadian sovereignty will be ours." - John Godfrey, MP for Don Va