Incoming sponsored travel rules for lobbyists will limit ‘educational opportunity’ for MPs and Senators, say CIJA and Results Canada

Two groups that provide travel programs to parliamentarians are concerned that forthcoming changes to the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct that will include sponsored travel in rules about gifts will limit their ability to provide MPs and Senators with first-hand experiences in foreign policy and international development issues. “We don't use these missions as a gift, but rather as an opportunity for parliamentarians to understand a very complicated region in the world,” said Shimon Koffler Fogel, president and CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). “We explicitly indicate in the invitation that there are no strings attached, there are no expectations of the participants other than that they attend all parts of the program, because it's essential for them to get that whole view. In and of itself, it's not a lobbying exercise, it's an educational opportunity.” “There's nothing that beats the real impact of seeing on the ground, of talking to a patient whose life has been changed, or talking to a mom who in years previously had no kids that were vaccinated, but now, five out of her six are vaccinated, and the sixth one is in the queue,” said Chris Dendys, executive director of Results Canada. “So, it’s about the tangibility of literally getting your shoes dirty, having real conversations with frontline community health workers, visiting hospitals and clinics that are far from urban centres and seeing the great work that is being done.” The updated Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct will come into force on July 1. It states that lobbyists should “never provide any gift—directly or indirectly—to an official that you lobby or expect to lobby, other than a low‑value gift that is a token of appreciation or promotional item.” The accompanying definitions include “travel, including sponsored travel, an excursion, transportation” under its description of gifts." The “low-value” criteria is set at a maximum of $40 per gift and an annual maximum of $200. The code permits the commissioner to grant exemptions to the rule by considering several factors, including whether the gift is related to the exercise of a power, duty or function of the official. If an exemption is granted, the commissioner can impose conditions on the lobbyist, such as a cooling-off period during which they cannot lobby the official. Lobbying Commissioner Nancy Bélanger told The Hill Times in an interview on May 29 that the code was worded so that lobbyists can still offer sponsored travel to individual parliamentarians, provided they do not intend to lobby them. “If they want to lobby them, despite the fact that they've given them sponsored travel, they're going to have to ask for an exemption,” she said. “Depending on the circumstances, we would possibly say, ‘The gift can be given; however, you will have a cooling-off period where you cannot lobby until the sense of obligation is reduced.’ … how it's going to have to work.” Shimon Koffler Fogel, president and CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said the travel programs it provides to parliamentarians are not gifts. Photograph courtesy of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs Fogel said CIJA does not consider its programs to be a gift to public office holders (POHs). The centre, which has been continuously registered to lobby since Feb. 17, 2005, describes its sponsored travel programs on its website as “fact-finding missions to Israel for Canadian influencers and decision-makers.” “I think where the difference of opinion is and where we think understanding is not complete is that these programs that we undertake are not a gift. There’s no quid pro quo, there’s no expectation that they’re going to come back and adopt CIJA’s position on any of 100 different issues,” Fogel said. “What we believe is that our constituents consider these issues important enough that they want their public office holders to have a good understanding of the situation rather than the kind of superficial one that one gets by just reading headlines and looking at social media posts.” CIJA’s submission to the first draft of the updated code of conduct, released in December 2021, asked that sponsored travel remain available to POHs. “Our missions to Israel (and the Palestinian Authority) are rigorous and, in short, designed to ensure that the POH experiences the highest possible quality and range of insights and background knowledge of the region,” the submission said. Results Canada also mentioned sponsored travel in a joint submission to the House Ethics Committee’s (ETHI) study of the lobbyists’ code with World Vision Canada and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank in March 2023. The three international development organizations asked the committee to recommend that sponsored travel be specifically exempted from the application of the gifts rule, and for hospitality costs incurred while hosting parliamentarians on sponsored travel to be similarly exempted. “We provide opportunities for experiential learning and evidence gathering, allowing parliamentarians to learn first-hand the enormous impact of Canadian organizations and the Government of Canada in international development,” the submission said. “This unique experience cannot be replicated by reading reports.” Results Canada’s Dendys told The Hill Times that the organization has hosted parliamentary delegations overseas approximately once a year since 2007, with a break during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The non-profit advocates for policies and monetary investments to improve health, education, and economic outcomes across the world to eliminate extreme poverty. Dendys said the delegations' value lies in giving parliamentarians a first-hand view of where Canadian international development investments were making a difference. The most recent delegation was in January, when Liberal MPs Valerie Bradford (Kitchener South–Hespeler, Ont.) and Iqwinder Gaheer (Mississauga–Malton, Ont.), and Conservative MPs Scott Aitchison (Parry Sound–Muskoka, Ont.) and Eric Melillo (Kenora, Ont.) travelled to Kenya. Results Canada has been continuously registered to lobby federally since Sept. 26, 2011; World Vision Canada since March 22, 2005; and Canadian Foodgrains Bank since Feb. 24, 2005. Dendys described the decision to include sponsored travel as a gift in the lobbyists’ code as disappointing. She said her organization was still considering the effect it will have on its work. “As of right now, our days of providing parliamentarians with on-site experiences will draw to a conclusion unless there's another review or there's some amendments,” she said. “It was always just one facet of our overall approach to educating, inspiring and hopefully engaging parliamentarians to become champions. It's just unfortunate that this very unique and special educational opportunity that organizations like Results and others were providing is seemingly no longer part of the tools in the toolkit.” Results Canada executive director Chris Dendys described the inclusion of sponsored travel in the updated lobbyists' code as disappointing. Photograph courtesy of Chris Dendys Liberal MP John McKay (Scarborough–Guildwood, Ont.) told the House during members’ statements on May 8 that he joined Results Canada on a delegation to Kenya in 2007, “which was far from being a junket; rather, it was a slum tour. Nairobi has some of the biggest slums in the world. What I remember most is the smell of open sewers and the chronic overcrowding.” Dendys said alternatives to sponsoring parliamentarians’ travel could include closer collaboration with parliamentary associations that have planned delegations to other countries. “It’s also looking at when parliamentarians are travelling anyway, to see if we can inform that travel,” she said. One solution could be a return to “virtual delegations” held at the height of the pandemic, she said. In February 2022, eight MPs and two Senators took part in such an event with their counterparts in Kenya, alongside health care workers, experts, and advocates in both countries. CIJA's Fogel said his organization take its regulatory obligations seriously, and have started consultations with its legal counsel to ensure that the centre fully understands the nuances of the updates before taking the next steps. “I'm hopeful that we'll be able to, down the road, see some reconsideration, because everybody has said that they're valuable experiences. What no-one will say, however, is that they’re a vacation,” he said. ETHI’s letter to the commissioner supported the call to exempt sponsored travel from the gift rule. But Bélanger said in her reply to the committee that she was not persuaded “that automatically exempting sponsored travel from the gift rule would be consistent with the fundamental objectives and expectations set out in the code, including that lobbyists avoid placing officials in conflict of interest situations and that they do not lobby officials who could reasonably be seen to have a sense of obligation towards them.” She said the rule does not “prevent parliamentarians from accepting sponsored travel. Rather, this rule has been carefully crafted to preclude lobbyists from providing gifts (other than low value tokens of appreciation and promotional items) to officials they lobby or expect to lobby. In practice, this means that lobbyists will not be allowed to lobby officials to whom they have provided sponsored travel.” The Hill Times reached out to ETHI members to ask about their response to the commissioner’s letter, including Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett (Leeds–Grenville–Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, Ont.), Liberal MP and ETHI vice-chair Iqra Khalid (Mississauga—Erin Mills, Ont.), Bloc Québécois ethics critic and ETHI vice-chair René Villemure (Trois-Rivières, Que.), and NDP ethics critic Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, Ont.). Responses were not received by deadline. Section 15 of the MP Conflict of Interest Code permits MPs to accept sponsored travel “that arises from his or her duties.” Members must disclose any travel that exceeds $200 and is not paid in full by the MP, their party or a recognized parliamentary association, or from the consolidated revenue fund, to the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner within 60 days. During the Procedure and House Affairs Committee’s most recent review of the code in 2022, members found that the current rule “provides sufficient transparency and accountability, and is in-line with current best practices for the prevention of real or perceived conflicts of interest.” The House agreed to the committee’s report on March 30, 2023. The Ethics and Confict of Interest Code for Senators has a similar rule in place, with a higher threshold of travel costs exceeding $500. The Senate Ethics Officer published a guideline related to sponsored travel in July 2021, which includes a list of questions for senators to consider before accepting sponsored travel. The questions include: “Is the payor or the sponsor a registered lobbyist? If yes, what is the purpose for which they are lobbying?” and “Would the senator, the sponsor or the payor violate legislation, such as the Criminal Code or the Lobbying Act?” sjeffery@hilltimes.com The Hill Times Groups that are registered to lobby and appeared in sponsored travel declarations submitted between June 8, 2022-June 8, 2023 Assembly of First Nations PSG Senator Michèle Audette (Quebec, De Salaberry) — Amount not disclosed Canadian Foodgrains Bank Liberal MP Shaun Chen (Scarborough North, Ont.) — $3,868 Conservative MP Rosemarie Falk (Battlefords–Lloydminster, Sask.) — $4,133.73 Conservative MP Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park–Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.) — $4,461.07 Canadian Union of Public Employees NDP MP Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre, Man.) — $744 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers NDP MP Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood–Transcona, Man.) — $1,799.08 National Council of Canadian Muslims Conservative MP Tim Uppal (Edmonton Mill Woods, Alta.) — $10,749.88 RESULTS Canada Conservative MP Scott Aitchison (Parry Sound–Muskoka, Ont.) — $2,659 Liberal MP Valerie Bradford (Kitchener South–Hespeler, Ont.) — $4,664.90 Liberal MP Iqwinder Gaheer (Mississauga–Malton, Ont.) — $4,917.54 Conservative MP Eric Melillo (Kenora, Ont.) — $5,598.39 Liberal MP Arielle Kayabaga (London West, Ont.) — $4,136.16 Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs Liberal MP John Aldag (Cloverdale–Langley City, B.C.) — $16,695.62 Conservative MP Michael Barrett (Leeds–Grenville–Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, Ont.) — $16,209.30 Conservative MP Luc Berthold (Mégantic–L'Érable, Que.) — $10,587.60 Conservative MP Adam Chambers (Simcoe North, Ont.) — $19,190.77 Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux (Drummond, Que.) — $18,846.85 Liberal MP Shaun Chen (Scarborough North, Ont.) — $11,563.58 Conservative MP Raquel Dancho (Kildonan–St. Paul, Man.) — $14,095.79 Conservative MP Eric Duncan (Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry, Ont.) — $10,528.25 Bloc Québécois MP Rhéal Fortin (Rivière-du-Nord, Que.) — $18,846.85 Conservative MP Laila Goodridge (Fort McMurray–Cold Lake, Alta.) — $18,446.20 Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner (Hamilton Mountain, Ont.) — $18,644.15 Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux (Edmonton Riverbend, Alta.) — $11,453.80 Conservative MP Pat Kelly (Calgary Rocky Ridge, Alta.) — $10,760.73 Liberal MP Viviane Lapointe (Sudbury, Ont.) — $7,636.23 Liberal MP Patricia Lattanzio (Saint-Léonard–Saint-Michel, Que.) — $16,903.70 Conservative MP Richard Martel (Chicoutimi–Le Fjord, Que.) — $10,894.04 Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus (Charlesbourg–Haute–Saint-Charles, Que.) — $17,233.40 Conservative MP Andrew Scheer (Regina–Qu’Appelle, Sask.) — $18,446.20 Liberal MP Peter Schiefke (Vaudreuil–Soulanges, Que.) — $11,316.78 Liberal MP Brenda Shanahan (Châteauguay–Lacolle, Que.) — $11,053.07 University of British Columbia Liberal MP Chandra Arya (Nepean, Ont.) — $14,553 Conservative MP Randy Hoback (Prince Albert, Sask.) — $12,983 PSG Senator Clément Gignac (Quebec, Kennebec) — Amount not disclosed ISG Senator Yuen Pau Woo (British Columbia) — Amount not disclosed United Steelworkers NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh (Burnaby South, B.C.) — $7,919.34 University of Alberta ISG Senator Stan Kutcher (Nova Scotia) — Amount not disclosed Data courtesy of the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, the Office of the Senate Ethics Officer, and the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying.

Incoming sponsored travel rules for lobbyists will limit ‘educational opportunity’ for MPs and Senators, say CIJA and Results Canada

Lobbying Commissioner Nancy Bélanger said the new code still lets lobbyists offer sponsored travel to parliamentarians, provided they do not intend to lobby them, as well.

Number of MPs taking sponsored travel drops in first half of 2024 after rule changes, foreign interference fears

Number of MPs taking sponsored travel drops in first half of 2024 after rule changes, foreign interference fears

Sponsored travel climbed back to pre-pandemic levels in 2023 as MPs accept trips to Israel, Taiwan, U.K.

Number of MPs taking sponsored travel drops in first half of 2024 after rule changes, foreign interference fears

Time for a shift: Canada must treat Alzheimer’s like other progressive diseases

AG says green tech fund documents ‘not my information to hand over’ as House remains at a standstill

Amid growing questions over his leadership, Trudeau looks ahead as PMO, PCO vet some MPs for cabinet and PS positions

Conservative filibuster costing millions of dollars, say NDP and Green MPs

‘Extreme apprehension’: Canada holds its breath as U.S. election enters final stage

‘Each of our voices matter’: disaster survivors call for greater climate action in Ottawa advocacy push

Taiwanese envoy warns against banning MPs’ sponsored travel, but former Harper-era minister Kent says MPs should not accept ‘large gifts’

MPs’ sponsored travel back in spotlight as House Ethics Committee, NDP MP Green call for complete ban

Gifts and hospitality rule changes may be hardest adjustments under new code of conduct, say lobbyists

‘More prescriptive’ lobbyists’ code of conduct to come into force in July

Lobbyists anticipate revisions to Code of Conduct following House Ethics Committee’s recommendations

News

Get free news updates

Opinion

Submit a guest opinion article

resources

Advertise

subscribe

get help

Incoming sponsored travel rules for lobbyists will limit ‘educational opportunity’ for MPs and Senators, say CIJA and Results Canada

Lobbying Commissioner Nancy Bélanger said the new code still lets lobbyists offer sponsored travel to parliamentarians, provided they do not intend to lobby them, as well.

Become a Political Insider