Canadians hold public officials to very high standards, and so we should. They hold a huge amount of power and take nearly half our income. As governments get bigger and more complex, the number of people working to secure their interests has also grown. These are the lobbyists. In an ideal world, their influence would be reduced as the size of government is reduced. But, until that happens, better they be regulated and their activites made transparent, than not. The federal government has strengthened its laws; B.C. should follow suit.

The Adscam scandal and Gomery Report in 2005 uncovered the power and influence of lobbyists. It showed how $100-million of taxpayer's dollars ended up in the pockets of Liberal-friendly firms after a close associate of former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien acted as an unregistered lobbyist. The fallout from this scandal resulted in reform of the old system and the new federal Lobbying Act.

B.C.'s Lobbyists Registration Act (LRA) is also in need of reform. It is an honour system with no oversight, compliance, or enforcement power. It is, in a nutshell, a place where people who think they might be lobbying can sign up if they are worried about getting embarrassed if someone complains they haven't signed up. It needs to be more than this.

Lobbying is considered, both federally and provincially, to be a legitimate activity. Citizens have the right to communicate with politicians. But citizens also have the right to know who is trying to influence their government. This transparency is important because if deals seem to be made behind closed doors for the benefit of those with influence, people lose confidence in the system. Transparency means lobbying should be open and subject to meaningful scrutiny.


When the B.C. government passed the LRA in 2001, it was part of their commitment to open, accessible and accountable government. However, all the LRA did was create a registry for lobbyists.

The problems with the LRA start with the definition of lobbying. In B.C., a lobbyist is communicating in an attempt to influence decision makers into passing laws, awarding contracts or implementing programs. In the federal legislation, a lobbyist is someone who simply communicates with public office holders about preferred legislative, contractual or policy outcomes, period. People who don't think they are attempting to influence have no motivation to register.

Federally, the Lobbying Act is enforced by a new Commissioner of Lobbying who is at arms length from parliament. Ministers and senior bureaucrats are prohibited from lobbying for five years after leaving their positions in government. The B.C. LRA is not managed at arms length -- ministers and senior bureaucrats can start lobbying as soon as they leave the public sector.

The federal system has teeth. The commissioner can force people to produce the documentation needed for an investigation. In B.C., however, if the Registrar of Lobbyists investigates someone who refuses to cooperate, there is nothing the registrar can do.

Federally, lobbyists must lobby ethically according to the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct. In B.C., there is no code of conduct.

The conviction of Ken Dobell in 2007 outlines the problems with the B.C. LRA. Dobell didn't think he had to register because he didn't believe he was attempting to influence and he was working for another government body (the City of Vancouver). The lobbyist registrar, David Loukidelis, was able to investigate Dobell's activities only because Dobell agreed to cooperate. Loukidelis found Dobell was a lobbyist. B.C.'s attorney general took the case to court, where Dobell pled guilty and was convicted. Conviction can mean a fine of up to $25,000, but Mr. Dobell was given an absolute discharge, meaning he won't pay a fine or have a record. Nevertheless, this was the first conviction under the B.C. Lobbyists Registry Act since in came into force in 2002.

The case of Ken Dobell shows what needs fixing. The language in the LRA is subjective -- who decides what is an attempt to influence? There is no oversight -- if the NDP had not complained about Mr. Dobell's activity, there would have been no investigation. The Lobbyists Registrar has no power -- the investigation was successfully only because Mr. Dobell voluntarily agreed to cooperate.

Today, the purpose of the B.C.'s LRA is transparency -- it is merely a place for lobbyists to sign up. Lobbyists don't have to sign up or behave ethically. The first step in reforming the LRA is to remove the attempt to influence clause. The system must be at arms length, and be funded properly to provide oversight, compliance and enforcement.

The sorry reality is that because government has become so large and complex, the influence of lobbyists has increased. Strict regulations are a necessary evil; but they address a symptom, rather than a cause, of what ails transparent and accountable government.