New rules to significantly increase transparency in lobbying have been proposed by B.C.'s registrar of lobbyists.
In her January 21 report on provincewide consultations, Elizabeth Denham recommended banning former cabinet ministers and high-ranking public officials from lobbying for two years after they leave office. She also wants lobbyists to report details of actual lobbying, instead of disclosing the names of those who they intend to lobby.
The 13 recommendations in her Lobbying in British Columbia: The Way Forward report also include proposals for:
- lobbyists to be explicit and accurate about lobbying with the public office holders they seek to influence;
- a declaration of whether a lobbyist or a lobbyist's client has donated to an MLA or cabinet ministers they're trying to influence; and
- a ban on gifts, unless they are of nominal value and the exchange creates no obligation.
Denham wrote that lobbyists are a "natural part of the democratic landscape" whose activities are often misunderstood.
Lobbyists, she wrote, range from representatives of non-profit organizations seeking program funding to major multinational corporations in search of investment opportunities.
There are more than 900 active lobbying registrations by paid consultants and in-house lobbyists in B.C.
"Politicians and other public servants cannot be expected to know and understand every angle of an issue, and lobbyists bring valuable information and expertise to the decision-making process," she wrote.
Denham, who is also B.C.'s information and privacy commissioner, submitted her report to the legislature, which reopens February 12.
