Special interest groups could find themselves on a lobbyist registry if Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall has his way.
An item-for-discussion motion sponsored by Nuttall at Wednesday night’s meeting asks city staff to investigate the feasibility of creating a lobbyist registry for Barrie to ensure the public disclosure of lobbying activities, to oversee the regulation of lobbyists’ conduct and report back to councillors.
“This registry is a tool that will give residents of Barrie information as to what special interests are seeking to provide input in policy creation,” Nuttall wrote in a memo to city council. “Special interest groups are more than welcome to meet with councillors and senior staff of the City of Barrie, but the residents of Barrie expect transparency and accountability and open policy creation processes.”
Nuttall, elected mayor Oct. 24, says the creation of a transparent and open registry would bring Barrie in line with municipalities such as Guelph, Collingwood and Hamilton.
“The onus for a lobbying registry is placed on those who are conducting the lobbying rather than those who are being lobbied,” he wrote in the memo. “The purpose of a registry is not to change the process of policy creation, but rather openness around this process.
“As we all know, transparency in the process of government decision-making is of extremely high importance,” Nuttall added. “The integrity of the process is paramount as we as a city council seek to institute our strategic plan in the years to come.”
The mayor cited “responsible governance” as the section of the strategic plan, formulated Dec. 3, which leads to the creation of a lobbyist registry. It includes supporting services the community needs while keeping tax increases low, maintaining a focus on core city services, financial stewardship, which includes finding efficiencies and innovation, advocating to other levels of government for support, and ensuring accountability and transparency.
“This is another initiative that aligns under this strategic priority,” Nuttall wrote in his memo.
City staff said BarrieToday’s questions about examples of the type of lobbyists who would be on this register, what information would be contained in this registry about each lobbyist, and what type of lobbying activities and conduct, are being referred to would be answered in the investigation report.
Collingwood’s lobbyist registry came into effect Jan. 20, 2020, and is said to form part of the town’s accountability and transparency framework.
It is described as an online tool that documents instances of substantive communication, such as telephone calls, meetings or emails, between those who lobby and members of town council or town staff, in a centralized database that is easy to access and search by the public and interested stakeholders.
Hamilton also calls its lobbyist registry an accountability and transparency tool. Its goal is to allow members of the public to clearly see who is lobbying the City of Hamilton’s public office holders, and aligns with the city’s values and strategic priorities.
The Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario also has lobbyist registry.
If Nuttall’s motion passes at the Dec. 14 general committee meeting, it will be considered for final approval at the city council meeting immediately afterward.
