Lobbyist registry gets thumbs up from majority of Vaughan regional councillor candidates

YorkRegion.com
Sept. 30, 2014
By Adam Martin-Robbins

If you think there’s a need for greater transparency and accountability at city hall, it turns out the vast majority of candidates vying for Vaughan’s three local and regional council seats agree with you.

And most of them also support implementing a registry to keep track of lobbyists who try to influence council’s decisions.

A local and regional councillor represents constituents in the municipality in which they were elected and also has a seat at the council table at the Regional Municipality of York, also known as York Region.

Currently, Toronto and Ottawa are the only municipalities with online lobbyist registries to keep a public record of paid professionals who meet with senior bureaucrats and councillors - and to disclose exactly what they’re talking about.

Hamilton council recently voted to implement a registry next summer.

Vaughan’s previous council explored the idea in 2009, but ultimately opted not to go ahead with it.

That could change after the Oct. 27 municipal election, depending on who gets voted into office.

So far, five of seven candidates seeking a regional council seat have told The Citizen they’re in favour of setting up a lobbyist registry in Vaughan.

Those supporting the idea include incumbents Michael Di Biase and Deb Schulte, along with challengers Mario Ferri and Richard Lorello. Carrie Liddy backed it, too, but added the registry would have to be designed so as not to discourage ratepayers groups and seniors groups from promoting projects. And, she noted, there must be a set of rules and standards to “control improper lobbying".

Incumbent Gino Rosati, meanwhile, said: To this point, I have not seen the need for a lobbyist registry. However, I would keep an open mind in the future should such a system prove to be beneficial.”

Max Power did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Along with their position on a lobbyist registry, The Citizen asked the regional council hopefuls what one concrete measure they’d introduce, if elected, to improve transparency and accountability at city hall?

That garnered a wide range of responses.

Di Biase pointed to the numerous policies and processes that have already been implemented, such as a council and employee code of conduct and a confidential public complaints process, as well as disclosure and posting of council’s office expenses and hiring an integrity commissioner, among other things.

But, he added, there’s “always room for improvement”. He noted it would be “worth exploring” initiatives such as disclosure of executed contracts of significant public interest and the addition of a municipal ombudsman.

Rosati provided a similar response.

“Over the years, we reviewed our process to ensure proper transparency and accountability. However, there is always room for improvement and I would support a further review in this area, particularly at the staff level,” he said.

Schulte also pointed to past efforts, specifically ones she championed, such as having committee meetings and council meetings video recorded and available online afterward.

She also noted she has advocated for, and vowed to continue pushing to have, more committee meetings held at night, “especially those important development approvals that affect communities".

And, Schulte added, the city needs to get more information more easily accessible on its website.

For his part, Ferri said it’s “important to ensure that we strictly enforce the council code of conduct and ensure that council expense reports are easily available online".

He said the best way to increase accountability is to establish a community accountability panel.

The panel would be charged with publicizing the city’s short-term and long-term goals, publishing an annual report card assessing how it's conducting business and meeting its goals; hosting public forums to share information and gather input and; report to council on other measures that can be introduced to improve transparency and accountability, among other things, Ferri said.

Liddy, who believes “transparency is at an all-time low", said she would implement taxpayer and resident councils.

“I will invite ratepayers groups and interested members of the public to participate in taxpayer councils,” she said. “I will bring all major projects before the taxpayer councils and actively promote public participation.”

Lorello’s proposal for increasing transparency is to “post more online financial information for public scrutiny". And to boost accountability, he would appoint an independent auditor general.

Read The Citizen next week and check back here to find out the mayoral candidates’ positions on these issues.