Forced By Federal Court of Appeal Ruling, Federal Commissioner of Lobbying Finally Bans Lobbyists From Giving Gifts and Doing Favours For Politicians, Their Staff and Government Officials
by Democracy Watch
Last Friday, forced by a March 2009 Federal Court of Appeal ruling won by Democracy Watch, federal Commissioner of Lobbying Karen Shepherd finally set out an ethics enforcement Guideline that, if effectively enforced, will essentially mean that she will rule that federal lobbyists violate Rule 8 of the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct if they give significant gifts to, or do significant favours (such as fundraising or campaigning) for federal politicians, staff, appointees and government officials they lobby or will lobby in the future.
The March 2009 Federal Court of Appeal ruling won by Democracy Watch completely rejected a guideline on Rule 8 of the Lobbyists' Code that was issued in 2002 by former lapdog Ethics Counsellor Howard Wilson and applied by his lapdog successor Registrar of Lobbyists Michael Nelson.
Together, Wilson and Nelson totally undermined enforcement of Rule 8 and federal lobbying ethics from 1997 (when the Lobbyists Code came into effect) until now.
Will the Commissioner Uphold the Ban When Ruling on Past, Current and Future Cases?
The new Guideline complies not only the Federal Court of Appeal ruling, but also aligns with the 2008 Guideline on Gifts issued by federal Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson, and with United Nations, OECD and OAS conventions and guidelines on good government and prevention of conflicts of interest.
"While the Commissioner of Lobbying's new ethics guideline for lobbyists will help stop the unethical and undemocratic ways some lobbyists use to influence federal Canadian policymakers, regular and comprehensive audits of the activities of all lobbyists, and new strong penalties, are needed to ensure lobbyists comply with the guideline," said Duff Conacher, Coordinator of Democracy Watch.
"Recent scandals show clearly that similar ethics guidelines and enforcement measures are also needed by provincial, territorial and municipal governments to reduce the undue influence of high-powered lobbyists across Canada."
Currently, according to federal Commissioner Shepherd's testimony in June before the Oliphant Commission of Inquiry into the Mulroney-Schreiber affair, the Commissioner does not effectively audit any lobbyist's activities and instead relies solely on media reports and complaints before she undertakes any investigation or other enforcement actions.
As well, federal lobbyists currently face no penalties for violating Rule 8 or any other rule of the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct.
Democracy Watch has five outstanding ethics complaints against federal lobbyists that the Commissioner of Lobbying acknowledged in her 2008-2009 annual report to Parliament are still under investigation and still awaiting rulings by her (because they were never ruled on fairly and impartially by either former Ethics Counsellor Howard Wilson or former Registrar of Lobbyists Michael Nelson -- both of whom were negligent, biased lapdogs who delayed ruling on complaints for years, and let people off the hook, for reasons the March 2009 Federal Court of Appeal described
as "deeply flawed").
The five outstanding complaints concern lobbyists who helped with campaigns, donated to campaigns or provided other services to various federal politicians including (among others) former prime ministers Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, and former Cabinet ministers John Manley, Allan Rock, Sheila Copps.
Democracy Watch recently filed two new complaints with the Commissioner of Lobbying (and other federal enforcement agencies) that will also test the effectiveness of the Commissioner's enforcement of the new Rule 8 guideline. A complaint was filed on October 16, 2009 concerning a fundraising event held by Conservative Parliamentary Secretary and MP Rick Dykstra at the Rogers Centre on September 4, 2009, and another complaint was filed on October 21, 2009 concerning a fundraising event held by Conservative Minister of Natural Resources Lisa Raitt at a restaurant in
Toronto on September 24, 2009.
TO SEE the rest of this news release, and links to all related documents, go to:
http://www.dwatch.ca/camp/RelsNov1209.html
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NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, November 12, 2009
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Duff Conacher
Coordinator of Democracy Watch
Tel: 613-241-5179
Email: dwatch@web.net
**********
Democracy Watch
P.O. Box 821, Stn. B
Ottawa, Canada
K1P 5P9
Tel: (613) 241-5179
Fax: (613) 241-4758
Email: dwatch@web.net
Internet: http://www.dwatch.ca
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