Kelowna council was in full support to direct city staff to create a municipal lobbyist registry.
Mayor Tom Dyas put out a news release the morning of Dec. 5 stating he would bring a motion forward at council’s afternoon meeting.
“Throughout the campaign it was clear that people felt as if decisions were made long before they ever reached council for a vote, and I committed to clearing the air by creating Kelowna’s first municipal lobbyist registry,” said Dyas.
READ MORE: Kelowna Votes 2022: Tom Dyas
A lobbyist registry would require developers, residents groups or anyone seeking to influence government decision-making to publicly register to online registry. This will provide the public with information on how many times anyone met with local government officials to influence their decision-making and general information on what the meetings were about.
“Kelowna is no longer a small town with minor projects, we are among the fastest growing cities in Canada and we need to modernize our systems to ensure that city hall has the transparency and accountability that residents want to see from their decision-makers,” said Dyas.
The City of Surrey is the only municipality with a lobbyist registry in B.C., however other cities across Canada have them, including the City of Toronto.
READ MORE: City of Kelowna proposes 4 per cent property tax hike for 2023
@GaryBarnes109
gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
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