But for lobbyists hoping to bend the government’s ear, Speer, the senior economic policy adviser in the Prime Minister’s Office, was their top target.
No other official was contacted by lobbyists as often this year, according to a Citizen analysis of records filed with Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying.
On 138 occasions, organizations such as the TD Bank, GlaxoSmithKline, Rio Tinto Canada Uranium and General Motors reported “communication” — in person or by phone — with Speer to discuss their files.
Formerly director of stakeholder relations in the PMO, Speer this summer moved to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s office.
His meetings were among the more than 11,000 contacts between lobbyists and government officials that were logged by the commissioner in the first nine months of the year.
These data show the breadth and depth of the contact between Ottawa’s “government relations” industry and the people, like Speer, who shape public policy. About 40 times every day this year, a lobbyist either spoke to or met with a public-office holder. Lobbyists logged more than 800 contacts directly with Stephen Harper’s cabinet ministers.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Environment Minister Peter Kent, both with heavily-regulated portfolios, took the most meetings, with 63 and 60 respectively.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper had 29 contacts with lobbyists, including those representing the Canadian Real Estate Association, Research in Motion, and the Canadian Cattleman’s Association.
Under the Federal Accountability Act, lobbyists are required to report verbal or in-person communications with designated public-office holders, a group that includes cabinet ministers and senior public servants.
The addition of MPs and Senators to the list of public-office holders in 2010 showed how often lobbyists are also reaching out to parliamentarians not in cabinet, even those on the opposition benches.
Not surprisingly, lobbyists make the most contact with Conservatives MPs. About 63 per cent of the reported communications were with Tories, who hold 53 per cent of the seats.
Oshawa Conservative MP Colin Carrie, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of health and member of the House of Commons health committee, was the most popular (61 contacts).
Agriculture critic Frank Valeriote lead the Liberal MPs (44), with repeated meetings with Canadian Egg Marketing Agency and Loblaws. He was followed by top-target New Democrat agriculture critic Malcolm Allen (39).
Big unions were among those reaching out to NDP leader Thomas Mulcair, with 21 contacts including sessions with the United Steelworkers of America, Teamsters Canada and the Canada-Israel Committee. Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae logged 25 meetings with Globalive Wireless, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the Canadian Recording Industry Association and others.
But the government relations industry showed little interest in leadership candidate Justin Trudeau. Only three meetings were reported with the Quebec Liberal MP, one by Sport Matters and two by the Canadian Association of Colleges and Universities.
Although meetings with political figures draw the most media interest, lobbyists invariably say that the bulk of their day-to-day work involves reaching out to government officials other than elected politicians to discuss regulatory issues.
The data for 2012 back up this claim. Only about 40 per cent of reported lobbyist contacts were with cabinet ministers or MPs. The rest were with political aides or public servants such as Mike Beale, the associate assistant deputy minister at Environment Canada.
Beale is the most-lobbied public servant, the data show. Lobbyists have reported 86 meetings with him in 2012, and the oil industry is his most frequent petitioner. The Canadian Petroleum Products Institute reported 21 contacts with Beale and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers another 19. He also met with Imperial Oil, Marathon Oil, Cenovus Energy, Suncor, TransCanada Corporation and Shell Canada.
In the same period, only one environmental group, the Pembina Institute, reported contacts with Beale.
Beale was by no means the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers only lobbying target. It is the single busiest lobby group in the country, scoring 157 contacts with public-office holders this year.
Original Article
Source: ottawa citizen
Author:Glen McGregor
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