Did the Commissioner let off lobbyists, and fail to enforce the law, and gut key rules in Lobbyists’ Code, to get reappointed by Trudeau Cabinet last December for another 7-year term?
Did RCMP Commissioner let off lobbyists to get appointed by Trudeau Cabinet?
Do the violations include unregistered, unethical lobbying by Facebook, WE Charity, SNC-Lavalin, Imperial Oil and other big business lobbyists?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, October 30, 2025
OTTAWA – Today, more than a year after requesting disclosure, Democracy Watch called on Commissioner of Lobbying Nancy Bélanger to stop hiding her rulings on 9 violations of the Lobbying Act that she referred to the RCMP, and that the RCMP referred back to her after letting all the lobbyists off the hook, as well as the ruling she has made on a 10th violation referred back to her by the RCMP sometime in the past year or so.
Democracy Watch filed an Access to Information Act (ATIA) request with the RCMP in October 2023 for the records of the investigations in the 9 cases it had referred back to the Commissioner (after the RCMP let all the lobbyists off without prosecuting any of them for violating the Act). DWatch filed a separate ATIA request with the Commissioner in May 2024 for her final rulings on each case, with each ruling to be disclosed separately as the Commissioner’s office processed the ruling records.
The RCMP has now delayed disclosing the records for two years, and the Commissioner’s office has delayed disclosing the records for one year (after it gave itself a disclosure extension until October 18, 2024). Both the RCMP and the Commissioner are blatantly violating the ATIA which requires records to be disclosed within 30 days or by the end of a reasonable extension.
“By continuing to hide her rulings on nine lobbying violations, Commissioner Bélanger is covering up scandalous situations, protecting the lobbyists and politicians and public officials they were lobbying, and making it even more clear she should not have been re-appointed for a second seven-year term,” said Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch. “It’s shameful that the RCMP, whose top officers are chosen by and serve at the pleasure of the ruling party Cabinet, continues to take so long to investigate lobbyists who violate the law and that they fail to prosecute almost all violations. Their negligently bad enforcement record is more clear evidence that a new, fully independent anti-corruption federal police and prosecution force is needed.”
The 9 violations the RCMP referred back to the Commissioner may include:
1. The unregistered lobbying and favours for Cabinet ministers that Kevin Chan and others at Facebook did (click here to see DWatch’s April 2018 complaint to the Commissioner);
2. The unregistered lobbying that WE Charity lobbyists did from January 2019 to August 2020, and the trip gifts they gave to former Finance Minister Bill Morneau and his family;
3. The lobbying by former PCO Clerk Kevin Lynch for SNC-Lavalin that was not registered by CEO Neil Bruce (click here to see DWatch’s March 2019 complaint), and by SNC-Lavalin lawyer Robert Pritchard and others;
4. The lobbying by Imperial Oil of then-Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer, and by CPA Canada of Minister Karina Gould, at a May 2019 event they sponsored?
Did Commissioner Bélanger hide her 9 rulings, and fail to enforce the Act properly, and gut key rules in the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct (ignoring the opposition to the changes from a coalition of 26 citizen groups with 1.5 million total supporters, and 41 lawyers and professors, and 20,000+ voters – Click here for details), in order to get reappointed by the Trudeau Cabinet to a second seven-year term last December?
Did former RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki let off the lobbyists because she was appointed by and served at the pleasure of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau? Did former Deputy RCMP Commissioner and current RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme let off the lobbyists so Trudeau would appoint him first as Interim Commissioner in March 2023 and then as Commissioner in April 2024?
The Commissioner testified on April 16, 2024 before the House Ethics Committee that she had referred 15 cases to the RCMP since she became Commissioner in January 2018, and they had let off the lobbyists in 9 cases returned to her, and that the RCMP still had 4 cases under investigation (See p. 12 of testimony).
Commissioner Bélanger gave an update on October 6, 2025 before the House Ethics Committee, saying that she had referred 18 cases to the RCMP since she became Commissioner at the end of December 2017, and the RCMP had let off the lobbyists in 10 cases returned to her, and that 2 lobbyists had been prosecuted by the RCMP, 2 cases were “in discussion” (whatever that means), and that the RCMP still had 2 cases under investigation (See p. 19 of testimony).
A national survey commissioned by Democracy Watch in January 2025 showed that more than 80% of Canadians are concerned about the corrupting effects of secret, unethical lobbying on politicians’ policy-making decisions, and want to know about all lobbying activities.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch
Tel: (613) 241-5179
Cell: 416-546-3443
Email: [email protected]
Democracy Watch’s Stop Secret, Unethical Lobbying Campaign and Open Government Campaign and Government Ethics Campaign and Stop Bad Government Appointments Campaign and Stop Unfair Law Enforcement Campaign
 
			
