House of Commons most lobbied government institution
House of Commons most lobbied government institution
MPs are still the most lobbied public office holders, despite a majority government that controls everything from the PMO. But depending on who you talk to, this is either evidence of the country’s 308 MPs’ continued relevance in decision-making, of Cabinet ministers not being as accessible, of a misguided approach by lobbyists padding registry statistics to appease clients, or some combination thereof.
Lobbying Commissioner Karen Shepherd’s annual report for 2013-14, released June 12, showed the House of Commons as far and away the most lobbied government institution in the last fiscal year, accounting for approximately one-third of all reported communications, with 3,911. Industry Canada was second with 1,079 communications, followed by Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada with 926.
Communications with the House of Commons, which include the 308 MPs as well as members of opposition leaders’ offices, were also tops in the previous two fiscal years, according to a Hill Times analysis of the federal Lobbyists Registry statistics.
To some, this isn’t surprising. Conservative MP James Rajotte (Edmonton-Leduc, Alta.), who gets lobbied more than most MPs because of his long tenure as chair of the House Finance Committee, said MPs are important for organizations trying to get their issues on the public policy agenda, even though departmental staff and ministers’ offices should also be included.
“Some will meet with me because they’re from my riding or from the region. Some will meet with me because they have an issue that’s coming up, a piece of legislation, or a national issue,” Mr. Rajotte said in an interview with The Hill Times.
“An awful lot of my time is spent dealing with people who have an issue before the Finance Committee or the department and they want to ensure that, in my role, I’m aware of what their issue is.”
Consultant lobbyists speaking on background also said MPs play an active role in policy development, especially when it comes to regional issues and committee work.
But others said lobbyists’ focus on MPs is counterintuitive—or possibly even disingenuous—at a time when decisions are more and more centralized in the PMO.
Conservative-turned-Independent MP Brent Rathgeber (Edmonton-St. Albert, Alta.) said there’s an over-concentration of power in the PMO and ministers’ offices, and that backbenchers are “largely impotent” when it comes to developing policy.
“It’s a bit of a mystery,” he said in an interview, when asked why MPs are the most sought-after group for lobbyists.
He said he gets fewer requests for meetings now that he’s an Independent, but that he used to regularly hear from a range of industries, from jet makers to steel suppliers.
“I found it curious why there were requests for me to meet with those people given how far I was from those decisions,” he said.
Mr. Rathgeber left the Conservative caucus in June 2013 after his private member’s bill was gutted at committee and he has been a vocal critic of the centralization of power in the Prime Minister’s Office.
The Lobbying Act came into force in 2008, but for its first two years MPs and Senators weren’t among the designated public office holders with whom lobbyists had to report their communications. That category initially only included Cabinet ministers and their staff, and government executives at the deputy minister, associate deputy minister and assistant deputy minister level, as well as CEOs of government agencies and anyone else of comparable rank.
The sheer volume of designated public office holders also favours the House of Commons, with its 308 MPs in addition to those working in opposition leaders’ offices. In comparison, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development—one of the few departments that lists its designated public office holders—lists 50 on the public service side, including those at diplomatic missions. The ministers for Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Development, the minister of state, and their exempt staff are all also DPOHs in the same department.
Don Boudria, a former Liberal Cabinet minister who’s now a senior counsellor at Hill and Knowlton Strategies, told The Lobby Monitor earlier this month that he was an MP for about 10 years before he was lobbied, and that there’s “a culture developing whereby Parliament matters.”
Those consulted for this article said MPs had probably always been lobbied the most and it’s just now being reflected in the reporting.
“I would be surprised if there’s any more,” said Joe Jordan, another Liberal MP in the Chrétien and Martin governments who’s now a senior consultant at lobby firm the Capital Hill Group. “It’s just that now it’s public. MPs were always very busy.”
A consultant lobbyist speaking on background said the Lobbying Act’s reporting requirements have also had an impact, making ministers’ offices reluctant to meet with stakeholders, forcing them to look elsewhere. Since the meetings are posted in the registry, the consultant said, someone lobbying on the other side of an issue would notice and also want a meeting. This has led to fewer meetings about subjects not on a minister’s agenda.
Mr. Rajotte said MPs have always been sought after but that he’s finding more groups outside the finance realm are looking to meet with him and “they seemingly want to meet with every single MP.
“I think you can almost be too broad in terms of your catch,” he said. “If you’re an association, it seems to me you should want to focus especially on those members whose committee is dealing with their legislation or policy issue, or if there’s someone specifically from that member’s riding. Some organizations are a little more targeted than others.”
Mr. Rathgeber attributes any rise in lobbying of MPs to a growing lobbying industry doing busy work in order to show their clients they’re engaging with government, even though it’s unlikely to advance the cause. One consultant speaking on background also said this could be a reason for the high number of meetings with MPs.
“I actually believe that, given the time constraints on ministers and executive staffs, and given the growth in the lobbying industry, that Members of Parliament are included within the process purely, in many instances, to allow the lobbyists to justify their existence,” Mr. Rathgeber said.
The data from the commissioner’s report doesn’t indicate a rise in consultant lobbyists, whose numbers have been stable at around 1,100 every year since 2009-10. More in-house lobbyists are coming in and out of the registration system, rising to 7,398 in 2013-14 from 5,780 in 2009-10, but the overall number of active registered lobbyists has remained stable at around 5,000 at any given time.
Another consultant lobbyist speaking on background said the lobbying of MPs seemed “counterintuitive” since the vast majority of the government’s decision-making happens among departmental officials, in ministers’ offices and at the Cabinet table. Mr. Rathgeber said it’s all in the PMO.
“The power is centered in Langevin Block and if I were a frugal client, I would instruct my lobbyist to concentrate all of his or her efforts there, because if you can get them onside, you don’t need anybody else,” he said. “And if you can’t get them onside, having everybody else in the Ottawa bubble onside probably isn’t going to get you very far.”
Mr. Rajotte described a more diffuse process for developing policy.
“There are thousands and thousands of public policy decisions that are being made. I know that a lot of the narrative is that it’s made by only one or two or three people in Ottawa, but that’s absolutely incorrect,” he said.
A lot of decisions aren’t made at the top and the Prime Minister and other ministers also want to know the level of support within caucus on any given issue, he said.
Lobbying the opposition can even be a good strategy for budget requests, since all-party support for recommendations at the Finance Committee means they will be included in the pre-budget report, Mr. Rajotte said.
Consultants speaking on background said MPs are a natural starting point for organizations unaccustomed to lobbying—when faced with an issue they’ll contact their local MP.
Regional caucuses are also important, and companies with a concentration of employees in a region can use that as a pressure point for influencing government, one consultant said.
The days where lobbyists could shake hands with one or two people and just keep them briefed on a file are long gone, the consultant said, and building a broader base to champion a cause is required to build momentum.
Mr. Jordan said meeting with MPs can also help lobbyists to get high-quality information faster, with “eyes and ears in caucus.
“They’re going to find out or get a sense of government’s intentions much sooner than the people on the street,” he said.
Finding MPs with a natural alignment on an issue, whether it’s personal, linked to a previous career or related to their committee work on the Hill, can also be valuable.
Lobbying committee members to study an issue can help raise its profile, consultants said.
While committee members only vote on party lines when it comes to legislation, Mr. Rathgeber said, studies are handled differently.
“There is some prospect for getting a study conducted through lobbying ordinary or backbench Members of Parliament, but to get a committee to write something that somehow the government, for whatever reason, doesn’t want written, that’s a bit of a long shot,” he said.
Mr. Rathgeber also agreed that, for lobbyists playing a long game, disseminating information to backbenchers could be important to gradually raise awareness about an issue. But for urgent legislative action, the pressure points are in the PMO, he said.