'Fairly limited' transparency rules for lobbyists in B.C., deputy registrar says

The deputy registrar of lobbyists for B.C. says provincial rules mean there is "fairly limited" transparency about the profession compared to other places in Canada.

Elections B.C. is investigating alleged illegal activity by lobbyists who donated to political parties on behalf of special interests.

Jay Fedorak, deputy registrar with the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists, says these alleged activities point to the profession's lack of oversight and transparency.

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"[The Lobbyists Registration Act] merely provides for a requirement that lobbyists register. We don't have the authority to look into any of their activities with respect to their relationships with public office holders, we don't regulate a code of conduct like many other jurisdictions," Fedorak told On The Coast guest host Gloria Macarenko.

"Our concern is with transparency. The purpose of the lobbyist registry is to provide transparency by helping anyone who's interested in government decision-making to have some idea of who is talking to public office holders about what subject."

Fedorak says lobbyists only need to register who they intend to lobby, not which meetings or interactions they actually had.

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In 2013 ElizabethDenham,then-registrar and information and privacy commissioner for British Columbia,recommended actual interactions be registered, but the provincial government never passed legislation to make that happen.

He says if those changes were in place, there would be an extra level of transparency surrounding allegations being investigated by Elections B.C.

"People would be able to go on the registry and see that a particular lobbyist had attended a particular fundraising event and who they were able to speak with."

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Other jurisdictions, he says, including the federal government, have codes of conduct which forbid lobbyists from giving gifts to office holders.

Fedorak says if B.C. had one, it would improve transparency and prevent some of the problems raised by the recent allegations.

With files from CBC Radio One's On The Coast

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