Several loopholes in Saskatchewan's lobbyists registry, experts say

The head of Canada's Democracy Watch says Saskatchewan's new lobbyists registry is full of loopholes.

"It should be called 'some lobbyists registry' because only some lobbyists have to register. Unfortunately it copies all the loopholes the federal law first created back in 1989," said Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher.

"The feds set a low bar and the provinces say 'we're meeting that federal standard'. And unfortunately the devil is in the details of any accountability law."

"You leave a loophole open and you're just asking for waste, corruption and abuse of the public."

​Conacher said only the City of Toronto has a true lobbyists registry because anyone paid or unpaid must register.

On Tuesday, Saskatchewan's registry went into effect.

In 2011, Premier Brad Wall acknowledged the need for one, In 2014 the law was passed. Only New Brunswick and P.E.I. are without a lobbyists registry.

2 types of lobbyists in Saskatchewan

Paid 'consultant' lobbyists must register. An `in-house' lobbyist, who is an employee, officer or director of a corporation, must register once they reach a threshold of 100 hours of lobbying an elected member of the government or a civil servant.

After lobbying, registrants must include names of lobbyists, the public office holders they are communicating with and what they are doing to influence decisions.

Conacher said the 100 hours will not matter to most lobbyists because they will not reach that threshold.

"If a golf game usually takes four hours, it allows for 25 golf games off the record."

Unpaid lobbyists are not required to register.

Conacher: Loophole problem exists across Canada

In Saskatchewan, several groups are exempt from the lobbying legislation. They include:

- Universities.

- Métis and First Nations.

- Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association.

- Rural municipalities.

- Saskatchewan Polytechnic.

- Volunteer and non-profit organizations and members of the public pursuing personal interests with MLAs are not required to register.

"There should be no exemption at all. All lobbying should be disclosed. Secret lobbying is a recipe for abuse, corruption and waste. You leave a loophole open and someone will exploit it," Conacher said.

"The politicians want secret lobbying loopholes. They want to be able to do a deal behind closed doors without any trace."

Conacher said more than 165,000 letters have been sent by members of the public through Democracy Watch to political party leaders across the country asking for loopholes to be closed.

100-hour threshold meaningless, expert says

"You don't have to be with a public office holder for 100 hours to influence him," said Raymond Hudon a political scientist from Laval University who has worked extensively in lobbying law.

Hudon said the lobbying is more about quality than quantity which is why U.S. laws consider any activity, not just communication, to be a form of lobbying.

"If you have something to say to influence their decision, lobbyists will tell you, you have only few minutes to do so."

Hudon said Saskatchewan is just following the model used by the federal government and other provinces, which he said is weaker than other jurisdictions around the world.

One 'giant loophole'

Conacher said people should be aware of one loophole that exists in the law.

"If you are lobbying the agency that enforces the law that applies to you, you do not have to register that lobbying. That is a huge loophole that's there to cover up big business lobbying. It's usually businesses that are lobbying the regulators," said Conacher.

For example, Husky Oil would be able to lobby the provincial government on pipeline inspections or fines but would not have to register that lobbying under the current law.

"What they are lobbying about is 'don't inspect us as many times or don't fine this time'. All of those communications do not have to be registered. It's a another giant loophole that exists across the country."

Registrar expects cooperation

Ron Barclay is the registrar of the new lobbyists legislation. He says he's rather proud of the legislation, which has been years in the making.

"I don't see any loopholes now and we are at a very early stage. If I discover that there is unfairness or there are problems, it can always be revisited," Barclay said.

Barclay said that if people are abusing the law, they can be investigated and fined but he said he "doesn't expect that to happen."

Under the act, it is an offence to fail to file a return or to give false information. The maximum penalty for a first offence is $25,000. A second offence comes with a $100,000 fine.

The registrar can also ban a lobbyist for two years.

Politicians and civil servants are not required to register when they are lobbied.

"In Alberta, where the legislation is almost identical, a lot of the in-house lobbyists, rather than have and sit and keep track of how many hours they're spending, they just go ahead and registered immediately," Barclay said.