Court to hear appeal involving lobbyists who raise money for cabinet ministers

My sense was this claim was hopeless -- not the sort of thing a Court would (or even could) decide on. That said, a Court will consider it.


By Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press

TORONTO - An advocacy group that presses for ethical government was slated to be in court Monday in hopes of forcing tighter rules on those who lobby federal cabinet ministers.

Democracy Watch maintains the current situation is untenable in that it is wrong for a cabinet minister to receive a gift of money, property or services that could influence a decision but not for lobbyists to offer those gifts or services.
 
"We have to clear it up," Democracy Watch co-ordinator, Duff Conacher, said in an interview Sunday. "We have conflicting rulings right now."
 
The Federal Court of Appeal hearing comes after a lower court dismissed a complaint by the Ottawa-based group against a businessman who raised money for a minister he was lobbying.
 

James Morton