Bill C-618 (Historical)

Foreign Lobbying Transparency Act

An Act to amend the Lobbying Act (reporting obligations)

This bill was last introduced in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session, which ended in August 2015.

Sponsor

Cheryl Gallant  Conservative

Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)

Status

Outside the Order of Precedence (a private member's bill that hasn't yet won the draw that determines which private member's bills can be debated), as of June 13, 2014
(This bill did not become law.)

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.

This enactment amends the Lobbying Act to require lobbyists to disclose
(a) if they are funded by a foreign national or by a non-resident corporation or a non-resident organization; and
(b) if they use, or expect to use, grass-roots communication to seek to persuade organizations or members of the public to take measures to obstruct, delay or otherwise affect any process in accordance with which the Government of Canada is required to consult with the public before embarking on a specific course of action, in an attempt to place pressure on a public office holder to endorse a particular opinion.
It also makes a housekeeping amendment to the English version of paragraph 5(2)(e.1) of the Act.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Foreign Lobbying Transparency ActRoutine Proceedings

June 13th, 2014 / 12:05 p.m.
See context

Conservative

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-618, An Act to amend the Lobbying Act (reporting obligations).

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure on behalf of the people of my riding of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke and the people of Canada to introduce this bill, an act to amend the Lobbying Act, to read as the foreign lobbying transparency act.

This legislation is all about following the dollar, in this case to foreign capitals with very un-Canadian agendas.

I am proud to be Canadian. All Canadians have built something very special in this country. Any time there is a national discussion, Canadians have a right to know whose voice is being heard and why.

Canadians have been made very aware that foreigners have been secretly funding single or special interest groups whose lobbying efforts do not enjoy the support of regular hard-working Canadians. Many of these groups could not exist without foreign funding.

In my riding of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, thousands of hard-working Canadians depend on their livelihood from the working forest. Misinformation jeopardizes those jobs. Canadians have a right to know the sources of funding for those groups that seek to take away jobs from Canadians.

The foreign lobbyist transparency act would achieve financial transparency and improved accountability through the public reporting of payments made by foreigners to lobbyists.

I welcome the member for Scarborough—Guildwood to refer to this legislation as a sunshine bill.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)