Is lobbying corrupting Canadian governments?
On Friday, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre published an op-ed criticizing Canadian businesses\u2019 use of lobbyists. He\u2019s also called out the Liberals for high-priced fundraisers and "undue handouts\u201d to the business lobby.
But since Poilievre became leader, dozens of federal lobbyists have also paid to attend the roughly 50 private fundraising events he\u2019s spoken at.
So despite all the critiques of big money and lobbying in politics, why do they still seem to be everywhere? How has lobbying shifted power in our democracy? And if parties are concerned, why haven\u2019t any of them made bigger efforts to reform it?
Duff Conacher has been pushing for MPs to close lobbying loopholes for almost three decades. He\u2019s a co-founder of Democracy Watch, a non-profit advocating for government accountability.
For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.