Residents should know who’s attempting to influence local politicians, what they seek to sway them about, and when.
So says city council, which unanimously approved the creation of a municipal lobbyists registry on Tuesday evening. The motion directs city staff to draft a policy and bylaw to establish a municipal lobbyist registry, which are to be presented to council for consideration in July.
If approved at that time, it’s expected the registry will be launched Sept. 1.
"I want to be constrained by a lobbyist registry," shared Coun. Phil Allt, who said some of the most uncomfortable times he's had as a councillor have come when being lobbied. "I think we need to make very, very clear, that we codify that kind of behaviour that I felt was inappropriate."
The concept received unanimous approval by council's committee of the whole earlier this month.
"Having a lobbyist registry at the municipal level, I think, is absolutely a step forward," added Coun. Leanne Caron.
As described in a staff report to council, the registry will require lobbyists to report each time they attempt to influence elected officials. They will need to provide their name, who the lobbyist’s employer is, details about the subject matter, name of the person being lobbied and the date of the lobbying effort.
For those who don’t register there are potential penalties like temporary bans on lobbying.
Delegate Susan Watson called on council increase the punishment for breaking lobbying rules, potentially by issuing fines to violators.
"I think it's actually extremely serious that these rules are followed and that there is transparency in this city around who is actually influencing decisions," she said.
In response, acting-clerk Dylan McMahon noted that's something staff will consider.
Coun. Carly Klassen asked about the possibility of listing lobbyists in staff reports, which McMahon said could also be looked at. However, he added, there's often lobbying efforts made following the public release of staff reports.
Last September, city council unanimously voted to have staff investigate the prospect of creating a municipal lobbyist registry, resulting in the recommendations approved on Tuesday.
That investigation came in response to powers granted to the mayor of Guelph last summer which allow them to veto council-approved bylaws if they consider council’s decision to be contrary to provincial-level goals, create council committees and decide who leads them, hire senior city staff, reorganize municipal departments and more.
There are currently about 10 Ontario municipalities with lobbyist registries, including Burlington, Brampton, Hamilton, Toronto and Ottawa.
