So far, there鈥檚 no proof that former finance minister and West Yellowhead MLA Robin Campbell directly lobbied the provincial government in his new role as president of the Coal Association of Canada.
Truth is, even if he did, it likely wouldn鈥檛 have helped him much, considering his party was annihilated in last year鈥檚 election, leaving him with few friends in the legislative assembly.
However, there does seem to be evidence that Campbell used a more covert form of lobbying鈥攔eferred to as grassroots communication鈥攖o pass the association鈥檚 message onto the government; for that, Progress Alberta has filed a complaint to the ethics commissioner.
Campbell was unseated in the May 2015 provincial election, along with many of his Conservative colleagues across the province. Following his loss, he鈥攍ike all unseated and retired cabinet ministers鈥攚as then bound by the Conflict of Interest Act to refrain from lobbying any public office holder for a period of 12 months.
That鈥檚 a mouthful of legalese, but essentially it means under the act, Campbell is required to have a 鈥渃ooling off鈥� period until May 2016 to ensure he doesn鈥檛 privately gain from his previous position of power. In a recent radio interview, he cited May 24 as the end of that one-year period.
However, over the past few months, Campbell has travelled around the province, speaking to town councils and local business groups about the provincial government鈥檚 plans to phase out coal power by 2030. According to at least one newspaper report, Campbell called on community members to reach out to their MLA to express support for the coal industry.
In other words, he did exactly what the coal association pays him to do and exactly what the Lobbyist Act says he cannot do.
In the act, grassroots communication is defined as appealing to 鈥渕embers of the public through mass media or by direct communication that seeks to persuade members of the public to communicate directly with a public office holder in an attempt to place pressure on the public office holder to endorse a particular opinion.鈥�
Progress Alberta鈥檚 complaint is now in the hands of the ethics commissioner who will determine whether or not it warrants an investigation. If the commissioner does investigate and finds Campbell contravened the act, he could face a fine of up to $50,000.
No matter where you stand on coal power鈥攚hether you support the government鈥檚 plan to phase it out or not鈥攖hat鈥檚 not the issue here.
Although Campbell may not have much support in the legislative assembly these days, that doesn鈥檛 mean he is above the law. The Conflict of Interest Act and Lobbyist Act are both in place for a reason鈥攖o ensure fairness and transparency.
Whether Campbell is reprimanded or not, we hope this is a wake-up call for all politicians that no one is above the law.
