New Westminster city council supports efforts to create a lobbyist registry for municipal governments.
At a March 3 workshop, council unanimously voted in favour of submitting a motion to the Lower Mainland Local Government Association (LMLGA) about lobbyist registration. Council will also submit the motion to the Union of BC Municipalities.
Mayor Patrick Johnstone said he appreciated staff’s recommendation to incorporate the UBCM into the motion, saying it would ensure regional districts are included in the discussion.
“I also think that it's important that we take this to the Lower Mainland LGA and have a conversation with our colleagues about this. Again, I think this will be an interesting conversation at that,” he said of the LMLGA. “I'm not sure where our colleagues are to land on this, but I think it's worthwhile having that discussion with them, and I hope that our region will support it.”
Coun. Daniel Fontaine said regional districts have "significantly higher” budgets than a city the size of New Westminster and are overseeing some “mega projects” that are on par with Crown corporations, so he supported their inclusion in discussions about a lobbyist registry.
“I think it's important that there be some light shed on the lobbying activities that are happening behind the scenes … particularly with the regional government, less so perhaps in city the size of New Westminster,” he said.
New Westminster’s motion stems from a resolution adopted by city council in September 2024, which was to prepare a resolution for submission to the Lower Mainland Local Government Association requesting that the province:
- amend the Lobbyist Registration Act to cover the City of New Westminster and other similar mid- to large-sized cities and administer the regulation of lobbying in the city; or
- amend the Community Charter to allow the city to establish a lobbyist registry and give the city the legal authority to register lobbyists, create rules for lobbyists’ conduct in their interactions with elected officials and public servants, as well as the power to enforce those rules. In addition, it asked that the province empower the provincial registrar of lobbyists to work with the city to share information so as to reduce duplication and costs for both orders of government.
A staff report stated B.C.'s Lobbyist Transparency Act seeks to provide for openness and transparency in lobbying. The office of the registrar of lobbyists for B.C., an independent office of the legislature, oversees, monitors and enforces the act.
According to a staff report, only two B.C. municipalities — Surrey and Kelowna — have established policies on lobbyist registration. Surrey’s lobbyist regulations policy applies only to lobbying activities related to land-use matters (official community plan, rezoning, development permit applications, etc.) while Kelowna’s lobbyist registry policy requires lobbyists (individuals or organizations attempting to influence a council member on a development application or other matter within the city’s jurisdiction) to register with the city.
“In both instances, the municipalities have introduced policies as opposed to bylaws, as a municipal council does not have the authority to regulate lobbyists at the local level,” said the report.
The City of New Westminster’s report said the Union of BC Municipalities endorsed resolutions about municipal lobbyist registration at its 2017 and 2019 conventions.
“The government of B.C. has acknowledged the importance of the initiative as a registry would increase local government accountability and promote the principles of openness and transparency,” said the report. “However, a lobbying regulation system for municipal government has not been established as the province’s response has generally been that a clearer understanding of what local governments are hoping to achieve is needed.”
