Lobbying groups also warned the Commons ethics committee on Friday that proposed changes to the code could put young people off from volunteering for political campaigns, including leafletting for candidates
Lobbyists are pushing back at a proposed $80 annual limit on hospitality for MPs, saying the amount is too low and would make tracking how much had been spent on guests at parliamentary receptions “nearly impossible.”
But their claims were condemned as scaremongering by Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch. He told The Globe that the proposed limits on hospitality would allow two to three meal receptions for MPs a year, and multiple coffee meetings. He said it will mean “lobbyists will be able to buy off cabinet ministers and MPs by managing their election campaigns and raising thousands of dollars for them while lobbying them.”
“While we accept the cooling off period may be necessary for those within senior high-profile and strategic roles,” she said, “unpaid volunteers who support campaigns in lower and less prominent roles should not be subjected to cooling off periods that potentially impact their livelihoods.” The current lobbying code says: “Never offer – directly or indirectly – hospitality to an official that you lobby or expect to lobby, other than low-value food or beverage for consumption during an in-person meeting, lobby day, event or reception.
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