Lobbying activity in Collingwood up in 2021: Report

Two years after first instituting a lobbyist registry in Collingwood, comparable data shows lobbying overall is up.

During Monday’s (April 4) upcoming strategic initiatives standing committee meeting, councillors will be receiving the 2021 lobbyist report, which outlines all registered lobbying activity through the town last year.

Overall, acts of lobbying were up, with the town reporting 87 instances in 2021 compared to 76 in 2020. However, the overall number of registered lobbyists was down to 66 from 72 in the same time frame.

“The aim continues to be ensuring the town is consistently acting in an open and transparent fashion when discussing projects,” noted Michael Trueman, accountability, procurement and risk management manager with the town, in his report to councillors on the agenda for the April 4 strategic initiatives committee meeting. “As a result of this commitment, we saw an increase in submissions and general inquiries about the program in 2021.”

The most common department lobbied was the town’s planning and development department. The breakdown for the number of lobbyists reaching out to each town department was as follows:

• Planning and development – 30
• IT – 15
• Environment – 6
• Parks and Recreation – 8
• Transportation – 5
• Other (various departments with only a couple of requests each) – 23

A majority of the lobbyists on the registry are from Collingwood, while some are noted as being international.

• Collingwood – 26
• Toronto – 17
• Guelph – 11
• Outside Ontario – 8
• International – 5

Lobbying describes any communication with a member of council or town staff by an individual representing a business or financial interest who is intending to influence a decision on government matters outside of normal processes.

Since January 2020, the town has required all lobbying activity go through the registry. In 2021, council voted to have a third-party firm, Principles Integrity, take over from town staff as the lobbyist registrar out of a recommendation through the Collingwood judicial inquiry that the function should be independent from the town.

In 2021, the town paid Principles Integrity a total of $1,062.50 for Lobbyist Registrar Services.

According to the town’s lobbyist registry bylaw, lobbying does not include communication at a council, committee, or public meeting; communication limited to requests for information, and communication about applications for grants, service, planning approval, permits, or other licence programs.

You can see the town’s lobbyist registry, including those who have registered, online here.

The report will be discussed during Monday’s strategic initiatives standing committee meeting, which starts at 5 p.m. and can be viewed on the town’s YouTube page here.

— With files from Erika Engel