Ottawa Citizen: Round and round they go

[tuvor]

The Harper government sought to close the revolving door between politics and Ottawa's lobbying business. However, Glen McGregor discovers that experience on the Hill is still the express lane to a job with a lobbying firm.

Despite the Harper government's promise to close the revolving door between politics and Ottawa's lobbying business, more than a dozen former aides to Conservative MPs have gone on to work as lobbyists.

The Federal Accountability Act, the first piece of legislation introduced by the Tories when they were elected in 2006, prescribed a five-year cooling off period for ministerial staff and other public-office holders before they can work as lobbyists.

But the law was silent about staff members who worked for cabinet ministers or other MPs in their capacity as parliamentarians -- as local representatives rather than as ministers. Though they may have close connections to political insiders, those staffers are not considered public-office holders and are exempt from the lobbying restriction.

A Citizen review of lobbying disclosure data shows that, since the Conservatives took office in February 2006, 14 aides who worked for Tory MPs have registered to lobby the government on behalf of clients such as Visa Canada and Scotiabank.

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http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Round+round+they/2595645/story.html

[HeresyLives]

1. Transparency, accountability, and all those other buzz words

the Cons promised....chucked out.