Lobbying watchdog still in the works

Whatever happened to the plan for creating a registry for lobbyists so the public can see who's trying to influence Hamilton councillors behind the scenes?

The idea was part of both Mayor Fred Eisenberger's and Stoney Creek Councillor Brad Clark's push for more open and transparent government during the 2006 election campaign.

And last year it was endorsed by the rest of council when they made it part of the purview of the citizen/council subcommittee in charge of making recommendations for an integrity commissioner.

Well, the plan is still in the works, though it's developed something of an ironic kink.

Eisenberger and Clark, committee chair and vice-chair respectively, have both been sidelined from the process while their conduct in the so-called tapegate affair concerning the leaking of confidential information is under internal investigation.

Nonetheless, Terry Whitehead, who along with Scott Duvall and Brian McHattie represent council on the committee, expects the discussion to take off in early October, right after they wrap up hiring an integrity commissioner and reviewing council's code of conduct.

In fact, Whitehead says the committee has had some preliminary discussions about possibly handing off the registry to the integrity officer when he or she comes aboard.

However that plays out, nobody should underestimate the complexity of the issue they're facing.

The purpose of a registry is to ensure that lobbying activities are conducted ethically and transparently in order to safeguard the fairness of council decision- making.

The previous council recognized the need for some action. They established a voluntary registry in 2004.

But to date, only Mark-Alan Whittle, the irrepressible political needler and council candidate, has signed on.

Clearly a voluntary system is a nonstarter. That's why the current council is looking at a mandatory registry similar to the one the City of Toronto launched in February of this year and is still fine-tuning.

Under the T.O. model, lobbying councillors without registering is a bylaw offence with fines ranging from $25,000 to $100,000.

They define lobbying as communicating outside the public process with a councillor, city staffer or member of most local boards or agencies about, among other things, policies, programs, contracts and grants.

According to Linda Gehrke, Toronto's lobbyist registrar, so far a total of 567 lobbyists have registered and 909 contacts have been recorded.

The registry is such a going concern, there are five full-time staffers dedicated to it with a yearly budget of $711,000.

It's doubtful Hamilton would have to throw anything like those resources at its registry, but we would surely have to wrestle with some of the issues Toronto did.

For example, who is a lobbyist?

Toronto includes outside consultants lobbying on behalf of profit and not-for-profit clients and in-house lobbyists for businesses, trade and labour organizations.

What should the registry include?

Toronto's contains information about the lobbyist and client, the subject matter under discussion, the name of person lobbied and the communication method used.

There's no fee for registering but lobbyists have to abide by a code of conduct and Gehrke has the power to investigate, suspend, revoke or terminate a registration.

There's a very fine line to be walked, too.

"I think the important thing is for everyone to understand that the purpose of a registry is not to prevent communication but to provide transparency," says Gehrke.

In other words, we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that even though lobbying often carries a pejorative connotation, talking to elected representatives is not a privilege granted by bureaucrats, it's a democratic right.