INST Committee Report
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CONCLUSION
Based on the evidence presented for our consideration, the Committee is of the view that the lobbyists registration system is, on balance, working well to achieve the objectives for which it was designed. The recommendations we have put forward cannot really be said to be fundamental; however, we believe they will result in a more efficient, more effective, and more enforceable system.
We heard many suggestions as to how the system might work even better, and we listened to all those suggestions with interest and open minds. The issues were often complex, involving questions ranging far beyond a study of the Act itself. In this report, we have tried to clarify how we approached those suggestions, how we "thought them through" and why we have made the recommendations we have.
While many important ideas emerged from our discussion, perhaps the most significant is that the lobbyists registration system is really best understood as "a work in progress." Just as our thinking must continue to evolve on subjects of transparency and access to government, so must our legislative framework remain flexible and ready to evolve; in this way, we will be able to respond to significant changes in the environment in which public policy decisions are made. The emergence of the Internet is the most obvious of these significant changes.
The pace of technological change makes predicting the future an uncertain enterprise. The Act mandates only a single four-year review. Should the Act be reviewed again in four years time? Our current review is complete; yet we are reluctant to close the book, and to say that the Lobbyists Registration Act is sufficient, now and for all time, to ensure that the goals it reflects will continue to be achieved. This much is certain, though: We must continue to use all the means at our disposal to open the public policy debate to all Canadians equally, regardless of who they are or where in this country they live, and regardless of the means at their disposal. The age of the Internet ? the Information Age ? presents us with both unprecedented opportunities and unprecedented challenges. The Committee is confident that together we will continue to meet those challenges.