Brian Gallant questions lobbyist registry delay

Its been more than seven years since a Liberal government in New Brunswick first promised to establish a lobbyist registry and there is still no system up and running.

Premier Brian Gallant has become the third straight premier to publicly support the idea of the registry though he acknowledged this month he wasnt sure why it still doesnt exist.

Ive actually asked the [Executive Council Office] to give me an update on exactly where it is and why it might have stalled, he said.

Liberal Premier Shawn Graham first promised a registry in 2007, but never put one in place.

The Progressive Conservative government of David Alward passed the Lobbyists Registration Act in May.

But to take effect, the cabinet must proclaim the act and write regulations that will lay out how it operates.

It appears the Alward cabinet did not get around to that before losing power in the Sept. 22 provincial election.

That means its now up to Gallant to finish the process.

We very much support a lobbyist registration act, the premier said on Nov. 7.

Ive supported that since I became leader of the party, so we want to understand why it hasnt been enacted and why the follow-through hasnt happened and what barriers remain.

The act would require lobbyists professionals who work on behalf of clients seeking to influence government policy to register publicly. Violators would be fined.

It is desirable that public office holders and the public be able to know who is attempting to influence government, the act says.

Lobbyists would be required to disclose, among other things, who they represent.

Similar registries exist for the federal government and in most provinces. Many such registries require lobbyists to disclose who they meet and what topics they discuss.

Doug Tyler, a former Liberal cabinet minister whose work as a lobbyist has been controversial in the past, says he supports the registry and hopes its established soon.

Its there for everybody to see, its been a long time coming and they should do it as quickly as possible, he says.

Not about knowing people, lobbyist says

Tyler, a former minister of natural resources and deputy premier, works part-time as a consultant for J.D. Irving Ltd.

In that role, hes been involved with a local committee in the Grand Lake-area working on labour shortage issues.

When the Liberals were last in power, Tyler was listed in invoices as working as a lobbyist for Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. when it was trying to build a second nuclear reactor at Point Lepreau.

Tyler had been Liberal premier Shawn Grahams campaign manager in 2006, worked on the Graham governments transition team and later returned to work for Graham as a deputy minister.

Tyler says he believes his work would be subject to the Lobbyists Registration Act.

From time to time, not on a regular basis, I would have contact with government, he says.

Surprisingly enough, there are a lot of people who arent quite sure how government works.- Doug Tyler

Sometimes thats at the bureaucratic level and sometimes thats at the political level, so I would suspect that would be covered by the registry.

He says the role of a lobbyist or government relations consultant as it is known in the business is less about knowing people and using those connections than about drawing on the persons expertise and experience.

Surprisingly enough, there are a lot of people who arent quite sure how government works, he says.

Its about how government works and how you advance a particular view, or purpose, that youre working on.

J.D. Irving first approached Tyler in 2011 about labour shortages at its Chipman mill.

That led to him getting involved with the local committee trying to address the difficulty many employers including Irving were having finding workers in the area.

The committee, in turn, has met several times with government officials, including when the Alward PCs were in office.

Tyler says theres no reason the public shouldnt know about that.

I have no problem saying who I work for, he says.

Im very proud of what we do and proud of the community I work with. If theres a registry and Im required to register, Ill register.

Timeline: 7 years of debate and counting

Both the Liberal government of Shawn Graham and the PC government of David Alward promised a lobbyist registry law, but failed to fully implement such a law.

Heres a timeline of the debate over a lobbyists registry in New Brunswick:

June 2007: The Liberal government of Premier Shawn Graham promised a lobbyist registry as part of its official response to the Commission on Legislative Democracy, a study commissioned by the previous PC government of Bernard Lord.

This new lobbyist registry will help ensure that New Brunswickers know who is lobbying their government and for what purpose, Government House Leader Stuart Jamieson said.

June 2008: CBC News, using the federal Access to Information Act, revealed that Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., hired Revolution Strategys Doug Tyler as a lobbyist to support its pitch to build a second nuclear reactor in New Brunswick.

Tyler had been Premier Shawn Grahams campaign manager.

December 2008: Tyler returned to work in Grahams office as deputy minister of strategic planning, provoking criticism from the Opposition PCs.

Graham said he was looking at setting up a shared, regional lobbyists registry with Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

May 2009: With no progress on a regional registry, the Graham Liberals said theyll consider voting in favour of a bill introduced by the PC Opposition to set up a provincial registry.

November 2009: The legislatures law amendments committee met to hear from the public about the PC lobbyist registry bill, but no one showed up. Later that month, the bill died when the legislature prorogued for a new session and Throne Speech.

June 2, 2011: The PC government of Premier David Alward introduced a new bill to set up a lobbyist registry.

Lobbyists will need to be registered, they will need also to name the companies that they are working for, and they will also need to name the ministers and the departments they have met, said Deputy Premier Paul Robichaud.

June 10, 2011: Eight days after introducing the bill, Robichaud announced it will not be passed by the end of the session.

"We're having some issue with the technology, he said. The software will not be ready for lobbyists to get registered.

Liberal MLA Victor Boudreau suggested the PCs were trying to avoid being transparent. They introduced it to be able to say they introduced it, but they haven't done anything with it since, he said.

January 2012: CBC News revealed that Angie Leonard, the sister of Energy Minister Craig Leonard, had been hired as a lobbyist by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

The information came to light thanks to the federal governments lobbyist registry, where Angie Leonard was required to register.

November 2013: Deputy Premier Paul Robichaud reintroduced the lobbyist registry bill in the Legislature.

Every lobbyist will have an obligation to register their company, register their name, and also to register their clients to the office of the ombudsman, he said. That information will be available and public through the website of the province of New Brunswick.

May 2014: The Legislature gave final approval to the lobbyist registry bill, passing it into law during a rush of votes at the end of the session. The Liberals accused the PC government of waiting until the last minute.

The Tories "didn't want to, within their mandate, respect the legislation that they brought in at the last minute, says Liberal MLA Roger Melanson. The bill received Royal Assent, but cannot take effect until cabinet proclaims it and passes regulations.

Nov. 7, 2014: New Liberal Premier Brian Gallant said he asked the civil service to give me an update on exactly where it is and where it might have stalled. Gallant reiterated his support for the lobbyist registry.

We want to understand why it hasnt been enacted and why the follow-through hasnt happened, he said.