Advocacy Update: Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct  

Due to continued advocacy efforts, CSAE has been successful against some of the potential negative changes that had been proposed to the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct.

In CSAE’s submission to the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct consultation in February, we argued against several potential changes. First, the original draft had suggested that basic campaign functions such as canvassing, door knocking, distributing literature, etc. during an election would prevent an individual from lobbying that Member of Parliament for 12 months. For many who are involved in elections, this would hamper their ability to advocate for their association. The new draft has changed this to include campaign functions like the ones mentioned above, but only if they are done on a full-time basis.

Secondly, the original draft had suggested that if your friend was appointed as a Parliamentary Secretary to a department that was important to your association, you wouldn’t be able to lobby that individual or their “associates” which included the Minister and their office. This meant that if your association was in the agricultural space, and your friend became the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture, you wouldn’t be able to lobby them or any of the individuals who are important to the industry you represent. The latest draft has changed this so that the definition of “associates” only applies downwards, meaning that if your friend was the Minister, you wouldn’t be able to lobby their Parliamentary Secretary, but not the other way around.

There, unfortunately, continues to be an issue with the Code of Conduct as it relates to receptions. Currently, parliamentary receptions can be held with public office holders if the food and drinks are of a “reasonable” cost. The Commissioner of Lobbying is attempting to make this clearer by applying a $30 limit that would include tax. They’ve attempted to rectify this in the new draft that states that rather than a $30 limit per person, the $30 limit would apply to the total cost of the catering, divided by the number of attendees. This unfortunately is untenable. If you had a reception of 50 people, your max catering bill would be $1,500. No caterer in Ottawa can currently accommodate this price, and therefore CSAE is continuing to press for changes to this clause.

The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying is accepting new submissions until June 22, and CSAE will be submitting a new submission. We are proud of the small wins that we have received so far for associations, but more work is needed to ensure that Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct doesn’t infringe on your work.

For more information, please see here.