Lobby registry will show special interest influence

re: City lobbyist registry

Way back in 2004, I was hired by a client to lobby Hamilton councillors respecting a business proposition. My client wanted to open a driving range for golfers on his property not far from Flamboro Downs. Before I got started I wanted to ensure transparency, so I consulted the provincial and federal lobbyist registry to inquire whether I should sign up as a lobbyist with their registries as Hamilton did not have one at the time. I was advised that I should approach city hall and try to get a lobbyist registry started.
Soon after, a voluntary registry was born, and I was the first recorded lobbyist. Fast forward to today, there are three of us on the list.
The registry should be mandatory. The city’s integrity commissioner could easily take over the management of the registry, if council wanted him to.
Once it is mandatory for lobbyists to register with the city, there will be a few red faces on council, as there are many lobbyists currently working under the radar. One can only hope that Lloyd Ferguson, the chair of the sub-committee in charge of rolling out the mandatory registry, gets his act together, starting with the definition of a lobbyist. A lobbyist is a person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of a special interest or a member of a lobby. I’m just hoping to live long enough to see the registry I helped create become mandatory, instead of the voluntary one that is not very effective at capturing lobbyists.

Mark-Alan Whittle
Hamilton Mountain

City sets timeline for lobbyist registry decision

Hamilton has voluntary registry

In 2007, Toronto became the first Canadian municipality to establish this type of registry, which requires city officials to publicly disclose every time they meet with a lobbyist.
Ottawa's city council followed suit, voting in July 2012 to create its own lobbyist registry.
In 2004, Hamilton set up a program that allows lobbyists to register with the city on a voluntary basis.
As of Tuesday, the list contained only three names.
Mark-Alan Whittle is one of names. He's a semi-retired lobbyist who advocated for the voluntary list and is pushing the city to adopt a mandatory registry.
He said lobbyists, including those representing developers and also anti-poverty groups, have a “way too cozy relationship” with officials at city hall.
“If you don't have a mandatory registry to capture these guys, you're not going to know what's going on.”
However, he's doubtful that city councillors will champion the cause because they're worried about the public learning about their close ties to lobbyists, he said. “They know once this is mandatory there'll be a lot of red faces around the council chamber and among city staff.”

Make lobbyist registry mandatory

re: Lobbyist registry still on council’s radar (Dec. 13)

Back in 2004, I had a client who owned land near the Flamboro casino. He wanted to transform part of the property in to a driving range to garner a little income for his family.
I inquired about registering with the provincial lobbyist registry, but was told that I should register in my own jurisdiction as I would not be lobbying any provincial members of parliament.
I approached the city clerk at the time, who thought it was a great idea and had it instituted through the clerk’s office and we finally had a registry, although it was voluntary.
Over the years I have forwarded many suggestion to the subcommittee in charge of this registry with suggestions how to make it better.
I sincerely hope subcommittee chair Lloyd Ferguson gets his act together soon, as all of my e-mail suggestions sent to him over the years have came back as being deleted without even being read. No wonder Coun. Ferguson is defending this committee’s glacial pace of reform.
Perhaps this subcommittee needs a chairman who isn’t as ill-informed as he is regarding lobbyists who ply their trade in Hamilton. Obviously I’m not the only one, as I know of six infrastructure lobbyists who are also registered on the provincial and federal registries, but not Hamilton’s voluntary one. Once the registry becomes mandatory, there will be a lot of red faces on councillors who were lobbied by these individuals.

Mark-Alan Whittle
Street Advisor Consulting