Hacks, Flacks and Lobbyists Should They Be Registered?

By Stephen Pate – As long as governments make laws and spend money, people have made it their job to influence those in power by lobbying. "Lobbying (also lobby) is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies." Wikipedia If you call your MLA and talk to them it's not lobbying.  Only paid lobbyists are called lobbyists.

A new scandal is swirling around PEI as the opposition wants to question too formerly high-placed Liberals who showed up on the radar as paid lobbyists for an industry lobby group. Government Blocks Liberal Lobbyists From Testifying

On PEI anyone can lobby the government and do it secretly without any disclosure of who is paying them.  Conveniently or not, no one has to be called a lobbyist on PEI.   PEI Last Province Without Lobbyist Registration

Liberal Premier Ghiz office scandal

"A fiery meeting of MLAs on the contentious issue of deep-water irrigation wells ended Wednesday with a majority vote against calling two politically connected lobbyists to testify," said Theresa Wright in the Charlottetown Guardian.

According to the story Chris LeClair, formerly Premier Robert Ghiz' Chief of Staff, is being paid to lobby on behalf of the PEI Potato Board.  Former Liberal MLA Cynthia (Dunsford) King is also getting paid to pitch the potato industry group, itself a lobby organization.

When lobbyists hire people directly connected to the government, people smell influence pedaling. That was the allegation by Conservative MLA Steven Myers,

"He was the premier's right-hand-man, he's lobbying on behalf of the potato industry, let's have him here," Myers said. "… a direct line to the decision maker of this province. That's the question. It just screams political interference. I don't know why you wouldn't want to know if someone is trying to directly influence the premier."

This is not Chris LeClair's first public accusation of lobbying the government. As a consultant in the law firm of McInnis Cooper, LeClair was part of a $1 million bill to the Province of PEI lobbying for online gambling, reports the Eastern Graphic.  Is McInnis Cooper a law firm or a lobbyist? asks the Graphic.

It's no wonder the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation, itself a lobbying group, wants LeClair and his cohorts registered with the government. Lobbyists must register in every province in Canada and with the Federal government in Ottawa. That makes PEI a ripe territory for political shenanigans that are not legal elsewhere.

What is a lobbyist?

In PEI's sister province of Nova Scotia lobbyists are regulated by Lobbyists Registration Act,  which says plainly that if you are paid to carry out any of the following tasks you are lobbying.

That does not include talking to or writing your MLA or a public servant as a private citizen or for your organization.  In other words, if you get paid to influence MLAs or the public service, you're a lobbyist.  Otherwise you are exercising your democratic right.

Lobbying activities:

Lobbying occurs when an individual is paid to communicate with a public-office holder in an attempt to influence:
	the development of a legislative proposal
	the introduction, passage, defeat or amendment of a bill or resolution
	the making or amendment of any regulation
	the development, amendment or termination of a policy or program
	a decision about privatization or outsourcing
	the awarding of a grant, contribution or other financial benefit by or on behalf of the government
	the awarding of a contract by or on behalf of the government (consultant lobbyists only)
	arranging a meeting between a public servant and any other person (consultant lobbyists only) (NS Lobbyist Registration)

That NS law catches people like LeClair and (Dunsford) King and forces them to admit what they are up to. It does not stop them from doing their jobs as lobbyists.  Paid lobbyists who must register can be people, employees of a company who have the role of lobbyist and employees of an organization who want to lobby the government.

Kevin Lacey, the director of the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation, is likely a lobbyist. If Chris LeClair and Cynthia (Dunsford) King are paid contractors or employees who lobby they are lobbyists.

If they are not forced to register as lobbyists, LeClair and Dunsford can do whatever they like in secret without any public scrutiny, which is what people like to do when they are trying to influence government.

Chris LeClair worked for Premier Robert Ghiz in Opposition from 2003 to 2007, then became Chief of Staff and Deputy Premier from 2007 to 2011. He left the government in 2011 and began his employment with McInnis Cooper as a Strategic Advisor.  Prior to 2003, he was a principal is several small consulting firms.

Cynthia (Dunsford) King, was a former CBC freelance broadcaster, elected to the PEI Legislature in 2007. She lost her seat in 2011 and has had various government related posts since then.

Follow me on Twitter at @sdpate, on Facebook at NJN Network and OyeTimes.

The video clip in this story is copyright by the CBC and used under Fair Use/Fair Play provisions of the US / Canadian copyright laws.  Photographs are from Transcontinental or the CBC.

By Stephen Pate, NJN Network