When I was an idealistic young member of the parliamentary press gallery more than 20 years ago, lobbyists were these mysterious men who were rarely seen in daylight but frequently heard by the powerful at late-night meetings.

At least, that was the image most journalists had — and which the current press gallery still has — of what may be the world’s second-oldest profession.

Today, I frequently work as a registered lobbyist and can report that much of what lobbyists do is tedious, including setting up appointments, reading mountains of minutia for hints of policy changes or explaining to clients — often patiently — why they can’t just ring up ministers to set them straight.

There are more than 5,000 lobbyists registered today working on issues involving the federal government, compared with just a handful two decades ago. There may also be another couple of thousand who aren’t registered with the federal government and, therefore, operate illegally under the radar screens of regulators.

For the most part, lobbyists remain cloaked in a mystique equal to that of the intelligence community.

Many lobbyists probably like things this way. Otherwise, clients might demand stringent reporting of activity on their behalf or demonstrated return on investment, as other consultants must provide to stay in business.

Most lobbyists are probably frustrated, however. The compliance obligations of federally registered lobbyists are increasingly onerous. Yet, the entire industry is tarnished by those who don’t follow the rules.

Recently, the government published the latest set of regulations to be enacted under the new Federal Accountability Act.

This legislation resulted from a 2006 election promise to clean up the lobbying business in Ottawa. This act brings the total number of statutes in the past 20 years to four, enacted by four governments (Brian Mulroney’s, Jean Chrétien’s, Paul Martin’s — yes, Martin’s — and Stephen Harper’s), with the intent of cleaning up the lobbying business.

But the public’s image of Ottawa lobbyists is perpetually stuck between that of pornographers and sellers of time-share vacations.

Each of the four pieces of legislation passed over the years has increased the compliance obligations required of lobbyists. Members of Parliament such as the New Democratic Party’s Pat Martin or Mark Holland of the Liberals are making careers of scrutinizing the lobbying profession.

But, as the old saw goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Canadians remain cynical about lobbyists — and so they should.

The Accountability Act is full of loopholes. There is nothing to prevent a lobbyist from advising a government department while lobbying it at the same time — something that is in the interest of neither the taxpayer nor lobbyists’ clients.

The rule forbidding public-office holders, including staffers in ministers’ offices and senior civil servants, from switching to lobbying for five years after leaving government does not apply to MPs. So, a junior employee working in the office of a minister could be prohibited from entering the business, while an ex-MP can go to work as a lobbyist as soon as he or she is out of office.

Lobbyists working for Crown corporations remain virtually unregulated because they are not included in the Accountability Act — even though several court cases have shown that Crown corporations are capable of being just as ethically challenged as any private-sector entity.

Under current legislation, lobbyists working for non-government or not-for-profit organizations don’t have to register with the government if they spend less than 20% of their time communicating with government officials. So, how many lobbyists working for charities and advocacy groups will be claiming in future years that they are communicating with government only 18% or 19% of their time?

In addition, there is nothing in the Accountability Act to protect the clients’ interests, even though lobbyists charge anywhere from $200 to $500 an hour in Ottawa.

No doubt the next government to take office will also feel compelled to pass its own new and improved lobbying legislation to plug up the loopholes left by the previous regime. There’s also no doubt the public will be just as cynical about lobbying and government ethics in general.

But things will stay that way until lobbyists themselves start cleaning up their profession’s image. Lobbyists are represented by two professional associations: the Government Relations Institute of Canada and the Public Affairs Association of Canada.

@page_break@Both maintain codes of conduct for their members. However, neither code is enforced with professional sanctions. Imagine if the investment or real estate industries carried on this way.

Neither lobbying association has had much dialogue with the public in such matters as explaining the difference between an ethical lobbyist and an influence peddler; or what a client should expect in professional service standards. Nor are there any professional designations or credentials that ethical practitioners of the profession can show clients.

These two organizations are currently in merger talks. So, maybe a resulting union will mean a fresh start in representing the profession and serving the public.

Let’s hope so. IE