Politics: Canada: Harper finesses new Accountability law in Commons, sends legislation to Senate, lobbyists furious
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A specialist reporter on lobbying for The Hill Times (it focuses on Parliament in Ottawa), Simon Doyle, has been following Prime Minister Stephen Harper's efforts to keep a major Conservative Party campaign promise in the last election. The background, of course, is the millions of disappearing dollars in a complex graft game by federal Liberal Party figures that was explored by the Gomery Commission, and that resulted in the jailing of a couple of scapegoats, like bureaucrat Chuck Guité (incarcerated for a mere three years, if that).
Persistently, however, Harper has introduced new legislation to reform the practices of federal Government Accountability and the permissible / unpermissible roles of lobbyists, to howls from several quarters.
Doyle said in a March 27 report, Lobbyists to lobby against new Prime Minister's highly-touted Federal Accountability Act that a hue-and-cry had gone up against Harper:
There's a growing resistance building against requiring senior government officials to record meetings with lobbyists. Public officials are 'rolling their eyes'. Lobbyists and industry observers say a large amount of resistance is building toward a key provision of the Conservative government's proposed new lobbying rules, which would require senior government officials to record meetings with lobbyists.Harper persisted, and in the process of debate revised some of the law's formulations, easing certain of the provisions that were considered draconian by some. Like his American counterpart, Harper is an incrementalist, especially given that his party in the Commons is in a minority govt situation such that, for every piece of legislation, he must find votes among the members of the three opposition parties in the Commons. Nevertheless, the situation also includes the fact that it's difficult for the previously governing Liberal minority party, tho they got away almost scot-free to date (except losing governing status, of course), are now loathe to appear other than in favour of restraining the forces of corruption -- both as it shows up in govt and as it seeks to corrupt govt in the practice of lobbyism by an army of special-interest slicks.
The questions surrounding the provision appears to be part of considerable resistance to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) proposed Federal Accountability Act, which promises to revamp the rules for lobbyists, including provisions to extend to five years the period for which ministers, ministerial staffers, and senior public servants cannot lobby government, and ban success or contingency fees.
Of particular concern to not only the lobbying industry, but also government officials, is the Conservative government's promise to require ministers and senior government officials to record and disclose meetings with lobbyists. It's not known at this point whether the rules will require the disclosure of meeting minutes or merely the dates of meetings between officials and lobbyists, but either proposal does not appear to sit well in the industry.
John Chenier, 16-year editor and founder of The Lobby Monitor, an Ottawa lobbying trade publication, told The Hill Times that a large degree of resistance is already under way to the proposal.
Keeping his eye on developments and his ear to the ground, Doyle noted more recently in another article on Jun19,2k6, Amended Federal Accountability Act a blow to GR: lobbyists that said lobbyists are angry and will not go away as long as they get fat salaries from groups wanting laws written on their behalf rather than the public good.
Yet, Harper's process of pulling back from the most stringent proposals of his draft law, thereby making it possible to bring on side more opposition figures, including Liberals, in an accomoadation that nevertheless is widely felt to have resulted in a new law with teeth that can bite both h+levels of misbehaving members of government and bureaucracy, and also the lobbyists swarming to peddle influence. Astonishingly, those most outraged against the proposed legislation are leading Tory lobbyists who helped on the transition committee in the first days of the new government. That's a telltale signal that Harper is doing something good for the country on the matter of government accountability. Some special interests from the Tory side have been pushed away from any insider lobbying role. Well done, Mr Prime Minister! -- Politicarp
FURTHER RESOURCES:
The Lobby Monitor
MPs reject Harper's accountablity appointment
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