Attorney General David Eby has introduced legislation to ban cabinet ministers and other senior staff from lobbying the B.C. government for two years after leaving public office.
The amendments to the Lobbyists Registration Act will allow the registrar to grant exemptions to the ban on a “case-by-case basis” if it’s deemed to be in the public interest.
“Our legislation will increase transparency and eliminate the potential for undue influence or use of insider information by lobbyists,” Eby said in a news release. “Previously, individuals could go straight from a senior decision-making role in government to lobbying. This sweeping prohibition will ensure that knowledge is not used or sold for private gain after employment with the province ends.”
The bill also requires lobbyists to reveal the names of any staff member that they speak to in a minister’s or MLA’s office, in addition to registering the name of the politician.
The law will apply to public office holders, including cabinet ministers and their non-administrative staff, parliamentary secretaries, deputy ministers, ministry chief executive officers, associate deputy ministers, or positions of an equivalent rank.
The definition also applies to the two most senior positions at a number of other institutions, including universities, school boards, health authority boards, hospitals, Workers Compensation Board, the government said.
The two-year ban on lobbying will take effect about two months after the legislation is approved.
The government plans a further review of the act within the year.
