Foreword

Lobbying is a legitimate act of political participation and grants all interested stakeholders a right of access to the development and implementation of public policies. However, a fair and equitable framework for lobbying remains essential to promote transparency in policy-making processes and ensure inclusive and informed decision-making, while minimising the risk that public policies respond only to the needs of a few special interest groups. Rules and guidelines on lobbying are also instrumental in fostering citizen’s trust in policymaking and reinforcing democracy, a key priority of the OECD.

In 2002, Quebec (Canada) adopted the Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Act, which remains one of the most comprehensive pieces of legislation among OECD countries. Nearly twenty years after its entry into force, reforms could help align the Act with best practices on transparency of influence communications as well as the main international standards on the regulation of lobbying.

The first purpose of this report is to provide an analysis of the legal and regulatory framework in place to strengthen transparency and integrity of lobbying practices in Quebec (Canada), as well as assess the reform project proposed by the Québec Commissioner of Lobbying in 2019, by situating it relation to the OECD Recommendation on Principles for Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying. Second, this report identifies concrete solutions and good practices implemented in OECD countries that could be adapted to the Quebec context.

By considering the recommendations proposed in this report, Quebec could encourage further political and civic dialogue on how to modernise the legislative and regulatory framework in order to strengthen a culture of transparency and integrity of lobbying in Quebec.

This document [GOV/PGC/INT(2022)2] was approved by the OECD Working Party of Senior Public Integrity Officials (SPIO) on 15 March 2022 and prepared for publication by the OECD Secretariat.