City of Winnipeg's voluntary lobbyist registry sees declining enrolment since launch

Cameron MacLean · CBC News

· Posted: May 16, 2025 7:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Fewer radical are adding their names to the City of Winnipeg's lobbyist registry, a instrumentality created to summation transparency astir who is trying to power decision-makers astatine metropolis hall.

The metropolis launched its lobbyist registry successful 2017 to way who is gathering with assembly members and staff, but assembly lacked the powerfulness to marque registration mandatory for lobbyists.

Integrity commissioner Sherri Walsh, successful her yearly study to the governance committee connected Thursday, said there's a diminution successful the fig of radical choosing to register.

"Lobbying is an important and morganatic facet of nationalist life," but "lobbying enactment indispensable not beryllium associated with secrecy and undue influence," she wrote successful her report.

In the archetypal twelvemonth aft the registry launched successful 2017, determination were 29 registrations, but the fig has dropped each twelvemonth since, the study says.

There were conscionable 5 registrations successful each of the past 3 years, it says.

The registry includes radical representing concern and fiscal interests — ride-hailing and short-term rental companies, for example.

It besides includes advocacy groups with paid staff, similar Bike Winnipeg. 

"I ever promote assembly members and members of the nationalist work to punctual individuals with whom they're gathering extracurricular of a nationalist process to register," Walsh said.

"It's not a atrocious thing, and that benignant of transparency is precise overmuch to beryllium promoted."

Registry should beryllium mandatory: Wyatt

When assembly approved the registry, respective councillors criticized the program arsenic toothless and enactment unneurotic without consultation.

Then politician Brian Bowman pushed to make the registry to seizure communications betwixt anyone who meets with the mayor, a metropolis councillor oregon a nationalist servant, extracurricular of a nationalist lawsuit oregon mean process, for immoderate signifier of payment for themselves, their leader oregon different concern oregon non-profit enactment with paid staff.

Government officials are exempt from the registry, on with anybody speaking astatine a nationalist meeting, requesting information, offering complaints oregon compliments, oregon communicating with an authoritative arsenic portion of a regular process specified arsenic filling retired a licence application.

Lobbyists taxable their names, interaction information, the taxable and intended result of their meeting. 

Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt voted successful favour of the registry, contempt being among its assembly critics. He besides registered his sanction connected the registry erstwhile helium acted arsenic a lobbyist during his years disconnected council, from 2018 to 2022.

In an interview, Wyatt reiterated his interest that not making the registry mandatory limits its effectiveness.

"I deliberation the driblet successful registration speaks to the request to marque it mandatory," Wyatt said.

"The clip for the voluntary lobbyist registry is over. The clip for the mandatory lobbyist registry … has arrived, and I deliberation it would beryllium greater for transparency and openness successful presumption of our section ideology here."

Mayor Scott Gillingham told reporters connected Friday the governance committee volition look into the issue.

"Whenever you marque thing mandatory, you've got to enactment … the tools successful spot to past benignant of constabulary it and enforce it," helium said.

To marque the registry mandatory, the metropolis would person to inquire the provincial authorities to alteration legislation, granting it the powerfulness to enforce the lobbyist registry.