Lobbying In Canad A Case Study

PART B
Question 2
In Canada, Lobbying is legal as it is essential for the open government the government promotes and it is also part of democratic ideologies. The federal Lobbying Act defines as when a person is paid to communicate with a public office holder in matters concerning policy or set up a meeting between a public officer and another party. Access to open government is important in Canada as it allows citizens to participate in the government. However, lobbyists can use their influence negatively thereby introduce corrupt practices. Although, lobbying allows citizens to participate in democracy, lobbyist needs to be controlled as they can abuse the power and influence they have. Do lobbyists perform a useful function? Can these controls be improved? …show more content…
Lobbying is an interest group and this means they represent the society and have the public interest at heart. This allow people to have free and open access to the government as they can bring relevant information to the government and, also helping the government in making decisions that is best for the society. By this way, citizens voice out their concerns to lobbyists and in turn, the lobbyists approach the necessary officials with these issues. Both parties can work together and come up with what is best for the society. However, some lobbyists can influence the government negatively and, also abuse the influence and power they have. In response to these issues, the government had to regulate the system. Due to political scandals, the Lobbying Act was introduced to ensure transparency. The act stated that anyone who wants to be a lobbyist needs to register so they can know who they are and what they will be doing including the person they will be working with. This allows the government to get more information about the lobbyists and if there is any issue in the future, they can track where it is coming