Letter: City needs lobbyist registry

Re: Article “Selling a new spirit of co-operation,” which appeared in the Nov. 20 edition of Northern Life.

Greater Sudbury’s new mayor, Brian Bigger, and many of our new municipal councillors, ran on platforms which prioritized transparency and accountability at Tom Davies Square.

Along with returning the ombudsman to his role as closed meetings investigator, Bigger talked about the need to revisit the way in which Healthy Community Initiative funds are distributed as part of holding elected officials accountable.

During the course of the election campaign, the idea of a lobbyist registry was brought forward by a number of candidates.

For those now on council who are concerned about transparency, integrity and accountability, I strongly urge you to look into establishing a lobbyist registrar office for our city, similar to offices which currently exist in Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa.

The goal of lobbyist registry is not to prohibit the lobbying of elected officials and senior staff, but rather to ensure that the public has access to information about who is meeting with our local decision-makers and what they’re talking about.

Lobbying is a legitimate and unavoidable form of democratic expression. It’s only problematic when it occurs in secret, and without the knowledge of the public, which is largely how it is occurring in most municipalities throughout Ontario today, including Greater Sudbury.

Lobbying is especially problematic in the context of Ontario’s municipal election laws, which allow corporations and unions to directly contribute to the campaigns of candidates.

The perception that money buys influence continues to cast a shadow on our municipal democratic processes. A lobbyist registry would at least begin to shine some light into those dark corners.

Greater Sudburians ought to know who is lobbying our elected officials, and for what purposes.

In the interests of transparency and accountability, let’s follow the leads of other Ontario municipalities and create a lobbyist registry.

Steve May
Val Caron