Two Lobbyists Found in Breach of Lobbyists' Code under New Interpretation of Rule 8 (Political Activities)
18 February 2011 | Lobbying, Conflict of Interest and Ethics
The federal Lobbying Commissioner (the "Commissioner") has found three lobbyists in breach of the Lobbyist Code of Conduct (Canada) (the "Code"), with two lobbyists found in breach under a new interpretation of Rule 8 of the Code.
The Commissioner tabled three reports on the breaches with the Speakers of the House of Commons and the Senate on 16 February 2011, as announced in a news release of the same day.
The Report on the Lobbying Activities of Bruce Rawson deals with unregistered lobbying. Mr. Rawson failed to register as a lobbyist within the time limits required by the Lobbying Act (Canada) (the "Act"), and failed to inform one of his clients of his obligations under the Act. As a result, he was found in breach of the Principle of Professionalism and Rules 1, 2 and 3 of the Code.
While Mr. Rawson had admitted that he had failed to register as required, the RCMP did not proceed with an investigation under the Act. Instead, it was left to the Commissioner to proceed with an investigation under the Code, which carries no fines or jail time for a breach.
While the Rawson report is non-controversial and involves a straightforward interpretation of the Code, the Report on the Lobbying Activities of Will Stewart and the Report on the Lobbying Activities of Michael McSweeney are entirely different.
These reports deal with a fundraiser for Conservative MP Lisa Raitt's electoral district association, which was also the subject of a report by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. Both Mr. Stewart and Mr. McSweeney were involved in organizing or selling tickets for the fundraiser. Ms. Raitt was found by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to not have been in breach of the Conflict of Interest Act (Canada) and the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons (Canada) with respect to the fundraiser.
The Commissioner found that both Mr. Stewart and Mr. McSweeney were in breach of Rule 8 of the Code, according to which lobbyists shall not place public office holders in a conflict of interest by proposing or undertaking any action that would constitute an improper influence on a public office holder.
The Commissioner found the lobbyists in breach of Rule 8 of the Code based on new guidance issued by the Commissioner following a Federal Court of Appeal ruling on Rule 8, but after the fundraiser at issue.
The Stewart and McSweeney reports are controversial because the interpretation of Rule 8 taken by the Commissioner is very broad and is different from interpretations taken by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner on the same wording and subject matter.
I will follow-up on this matter with a post on lessons to learn for lobbyists from the reports, and a critique of the Commissioner's analysis and findings in the reports.