Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Lobbying of PM Harper more than doubles in 2014 from year before: registry

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was lobbied more than twice as many times in 2014 as the year before, an increase insiders attribute to a range of factors, including more pressing economic files, more transparent lobby registration, and the absence of his former chief of staff Nigel Wright.

Mr. Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) was lobbied 55 times last year, communication reports filed with the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying show, putting him among the top 10 most lobbied government ministers for 2014.

Industry Minister James Moore (Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, B.C.) took the top spot, with 93 reported communications, followed by Finance Minister Joe Oliver (Eglinton-Lawrence, Ont.) and Employment and Social Development Minister Jason Kenney (Calgary Southeast, Alta.).

Michelle Rempel (Calgary Centre-North, Alta.), the minister of state for Western Economic Diversification, was fourth. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz (Battlefords-Lloydminster, Sask.), the most lobbied minister in 2012 and 2013, dropped to number five last year.

The 55 communications with the Prime Minister were significantly more than in any year since the registry came online in mid-2008. The previous high was 36 in 2009, 2010, and 2012. Only 24 communications were reported in 2013.

Communication reports often refer to meetings but they can also include phone calls and other correspondence.

The Hill Times contacted a number of insiders about possible reasons for the Prime Minister’s apparent increased availability and no consensus was found. The PMO did not respond to a request for comment.

Some suggested the possibility of meeting more interest groups ahead of an election year but the majority of Mr. Harper’s communications were before the fall, when that kind of pre-election work would have taken place.

Another suggestion was that the PM took over more business files after the late Jim Flaherty had left the Finance portfolio, and he continued to make up for the absence of former PMO chief of staff Nigel Wright, who left the office in May 2013 after it was reported by CTV that he wrote Senator Mike Duffy a $90,000 cheque to repay improper expense claims.

“I don’t think that there’s any one strategic or tactical reason why this is changing other than just growth,” said Chad Rogers, a partner at Crestview Strategy.

There were more economic files requiring the Prime Minister’s involvement than in past years, he said, from international trade to the Temporary Foreign Workers Program.

“Government and business have to talk when their interests are aligned and there’s a pretty orderly way to do it,” he said.

Lobbyists’ and government’s approach to the registry is also normalizing, Mr. Rogers said, with both sides becoming more comfortable with the process where they may have been intimidated in the years immediately after the new lobbying regulations came into force in 2008.

Mark Cameron, a senior vice-president at Hill & Knowlton Strategies and former PMO director of policy and research, said he doesn’t think the increase is significant.

“If there is any difference, Nigel Wright obviously had close business connections so [Mr. Harper] may have done more of those meetings himself,” Mr. Cameron said in an interview.

Business leaders would have felt very comfortable meeting with the former Onex Corp. executive because of his business background, Mr. Cameron said, and wouldn’t have felt, while he was there, that they would also have to meet with the PM.

Mr. Wright took 21 meetings in 2011, his first year in the job, and 37 in 2012, the registry shows. Nine communications were reported with him in 2013 before his May departure.

His successor, Ray Novak, took five meetings after taking over as chief in 2013, and seven communications were reported with him in 2014. Some lobbyists have suggested the PMO is taking fewer meetings since Mr. Wright left but a previous Hill Times analysis showed only a slight decline in overall meetings with the top office.

The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME), a large trade organization representing thousands of manufacturing companies, had the most contact with the PM in 2014, reporting seven communications. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) was next with five.

The Canola Council of Canada reported four communications with the PM, all of them on Mr. Harper’s trip to Mexico last February where the association was a delegate, along with the CME.

Lobbyists weren’t at all surprised by the list of most lobbied ministers last year, as they all manage economic files that firms and associations were looking to engage on. Mr. Moore’s portfolio ranges from cars to telecom to aerospace and he met with companies from across the spectrum. Mr. Oliver was lobbied often as minister of Natural Resources and his numbers rose when he moved to Finance in April.

Mr. Kenney was busy throughout the spring and summer on the government’s contentious Temporary Foreign Worker Program. He imposed a moratorium on the program for the restaurant industry in April, following reports that some restaurants, including three McDonald’s franchises, had abused it, before announcing reforms in June that reduced its use for low-wage workers and raised fees for companies.

Former Veterans Affairs minister Julian Fantino (Vaughan, Ont.) was the least lobbied minister in 2014, with only six reported communications. Mr. Fantino, who was shuffled out of the portfolio earlier this month, was criticized for his reluctance to meet with veterans groups.

Defence Minister Rob Nicholson (Niagara Falls, Ont.), the least lobbied minister in 2013, had the second-lowest total last year, with eight.

With an election scheduled for Oct. 19, lobbyists said the approach would be different in 2015 with interest groups’ focus on influencing policy through party platforms.

“Every lobbyist is desperately trying to figure out who’s holding the pen on each platform, or who’s holding the pen on their chapter, and is advocating for their clients,” Mr. Rogers said. “I think the parties are fatigued and annoyed at the high level of input being offered unsolicited. And I think the platforms are sparser each year, not more inclusive.”

Mr. Cameron said there would probably be fewer “routine transactional meetings taking place because people are going to be waiting to see what happens after the election.”

mburgess@hilltimes.com

The Hill Times



Meetings reported with PM Stephen Harper in 2014



Alliance of Manufacturers & Exporters Canada (CME)

Communication Date: 2014-12-11



Xerox Canada Ltd.

Designated Public Office Holders:

Communication Date: 2014-12-11



Selwyn Chihong Mining Limited

Consultant: Dennis Fentie

Communication Date: 2014-12-05



Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada

Communication Date: 2014-11-28



Canadian Alliance of Student  Associations / Alliance

canadienne des associations etudiantes

Communication Date: 2014-11-19



BlackBerry Limited

Communication Date: 2014-11-09



Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)

Communication Date: 2014-10-27



Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association operating as Restaurants Canada

Communication Date: 2014-10-21



TELUS Corporation

Communication Date: 2014-10-02



Alliance of Manufacturers & Exporters Canada (CME)

Communication Date: 2014-09-18



Alliance of Manufacturers & Exporters Canada (CME)

Communication Date: 2014-09-03



Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)

Communication Date: 2014-09-03



Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada)

Communication Date: 2014-08-13



KPMG LLP / KPMG s.r.l.

Communication Date: 2014-08-13



PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP / PricewaterhouseCoopers s.r.l./ s.e.n.c.r.l.

Communication Date: 2014-08-13



Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame / Pantheon des Sports Canadiens

Communication Date: 2014-08-11



CAMECO CORPORATION

Communication Date: 2014-07-30



World Renew

Communication Date: 2014-07-15



International Ship-Owners Alliance of Canada Inc. (ISAC)

Communication Date: 2014-06-09



Monthly Communication Report Syngenta Canada Inc.

Communication Date: 2014-05-14



U15-Group of Canadian Research Universities

Communication Date: 2014-05-14



Canadian Real Estate Association

Consultant: Laura Leyser, The Canadian Real Estate Association

Communication Date: 2014-05-08



Canadian Real Estate Association

Consultant: Wilfred (Bill) Briggs

Communication Date: 2014-05-08



Canadian Real Estate Association

Consultant: Pauline Aunger

Communication Date: 2014-05-08



Canadian Real Estate Association

Consultant: Beth Alexander

Communication Date: 2014-05-08



The Canadian Real Estate Association

Communication Date: 2014-05-05



Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada

Communication Date: 2014-05-05



World Vision Canada

Communication Date: 2014-04-25



BlackBerry Limited

Communication Date: 2014-04-25



Babcock & Willcox Canada Ltd.

Communication Date: 2014-04-25



Canadian Renewable Fuels Association

Communication Date: 2014-04-08



Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)

Communication Date: 2014-03-27



Petroleum Services Association of Canada

Communication Date: 2014-03-27



Canadian Federation of Independent
Business (CFIB)

Communication Date: 2014-03-26



International Ship-Owners Alliance of Canada Inc. (ISAC)

Communication Date: 2014-03-26



Magellan Aerospace Corporation

Communication Date: 2014-03-26



Shell Canada Limited

Communication Date: 2014-03-24



Alliance of Manufacturers & Exporters Canada (CME) / Alliance des manufacturiers et des exportateurs du Canada (MEC)

Communication Date: 2014-03-23



Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)

Communication Date: 2014-03-23



International Ship-Owners Alliance of Canada Inc. (ISAC)

Communication Date: 2014-03-23



CANADIAN CATTLEMENS’ ASSOCIATION

Communication Date: 2014-03-05

Shaw Communications

Communication Date: 2014-03-05



Alliance of Manufacturers & Exporters Canada (CME)

Communication Date: 2014-02-28



sanofi-aventis Canada Inc.

Communication Date: 2014-02-28



Alliance of Manufacturers & Exporters Canada (CME)

Communication Date: 2014-02-20



Monthly Communication Report Canola Council of Canada

Communication Date: 2014-02-20



Alliance of Manufacturers & Exporters Canada (CME)

Communication Date: 2014-02-19



Canola Council of Canada

Designated Public Office Holders:

Communication Date: 2014-02-19



Canola Council of Canada

Communication Date: 2014-02-18



Canola Council of Canada

Communication Date: 2014-02-17



Chrysler Canada Inc.

Communication Date: 2014-02-11



Imperial Oil Limited

Communication Date: 2014-02-07



University of Manitoba

Communication Date: 2014-02-07



Rogers Communications Inc.

Communication Date: 2014-02-05



Entertainment Software Association of Canada

Communication Date: 2014-02-04

Data compiled using the Office of Commissioner of Lobbying’s online registry

Original Article
Source: hilltimes.com/
Author:  MARK BURGESS

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