Five city unions support lobbyist registry for Edmonton council and top bureaucrats

Five unions representing city employees are speaking out in favour of a lobbyist registry in Edmonton both for members of council and top bureaucrats.

The Coalition of Edmonton Civic Unions (CECU) has joined Ward papastew Coun. Michael Janz in urging Edmonton city council to create a registry that tracks meetings between elected officials and high-ranking city staff members with people or groups attempting to influence them. The coalition includes unions for administrative, transit and utility workers, as well as firefighters and other employees.

“Lobbyist registries are tools that help to increase public accountability and trust in elected officials and senior administrators by keeping track of lobbyists who meet and share information with those decision makers. The goal isn’t to limit the information received, but to make sure that all the factors going into a decision are transparent,” the statement reads.

Discussions about a potential $26.5 million pedway contract between the city and Ledcor created outside the public competitive bid process prompted Janz to renew his advocacy on a lobbyist registry. The city’s ethics adviser recommended city council create a registry last year.

Former mayor Don Iveson voluntarily created a registry for lobbyists who visited his office in 2018.

Councillors looked at making something similar for themselves but ultimately rejected it in 2019 because of concerns it could restrict residents’ rights and it created too many grey areas. That registry would have required anyone attempting to influence decisions by contacting councillors or their staff to complete a registration form ahead of time, both for formal communications by email or in-person, and for non-formal discussions in public.

Boards and commissions should be included: PIA

Advocacy group Public Interest Alberta has also been calling for a local registry for a few years.

Executive director Bradley Lafortune told Postmedia having one would enhance transparency and oversight. He thinks senior civil servants like city managers, as well as boards and commissions and the mayor’s and councillors’ offices should be included.

“We just think it would be good for our democratic processes and that Edmontonians can have more trust in the decision-making process,” Lafortune said. “Fundamentally, cities are making decisions that involve significant amounts of taxpayer money, and so if it’s relevant at the provincial and federal level it’s relevant at the municipal level.”

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi previously told Postmedia he also supports a registry as long as it isn’t too expensive or too onerous to navigate.

Lafortune thinks the cost would be worth it and that increased scrutiny could end up saving taxpayers money in the long run.

“It’s hard to put a price tag on the value of a lobbyist registry for sure, but ultimately I think any price that we would pay — which would probably be very modest — will be worth it for the public interest and to the taxpayer to have more transparency and oversight in the decision-making processes.”

Lafortune thinks a municipal lobbyist registry should use minimum criteria and thresholds for what defines lobbying or a lobbyist, so it doesn’t capture members of the public having one-off discussions with their elected representatives.