Routhier pushes to close lobbying loopholes

Tashi Farmilo

Quebec’s Commissioner of Lobbying, Jean-François Routhier, is urging the provincial government to modernize the province’s lobbying law, saying it is out of date and filled with loopholes that allow important lobbying activity to go unreported.

The law, which has been in place since 2002, only requires people to register as lobbyists if lobbying makes up a “significant part” of their work. According to Routhier, this leaves a large grey area. “Particularly in Quebec, we have an issue called the ‘significant part’, meaning a lobbyist must be doing lobbying as a significant part of their work to be required to declare it,” he said. “It hasn’t evolved since then. So now we’re 20 years later, and we still have the same law.”

He pointed out that this allows powerful people to influence elected officials without the public ever knowing. “The CEO of a multinational who doesn’t lobby as a significant part of his duties can text the Premier and fly under the radar,” Routhier said. “I think the public should know that.”

Routhier has completed a proposal to fix the law, which he says is ready to be submitted if the government decides to move forward before the National Assembly breaks for the summer. One of the biggest changes would be shifting responsibility from individual lobbyists to the companies or organizations that benefit from lobbying. This would allow for penalties such as fines, required training, or making the company’s name public, without needing to launch full legal cases.

“It costs a lot of money to make those investigations, and the results are not always there,” he said. “That’s why we want to change the law to make it more effective, cost-effective also, and so the public feels we are actually doing something about it.”

Another proposed change would expand the law to include certain non-profit organizations like think tanks and foundations that are created to influence public policy. Groups that deliver direct community services would still be exempt.

Routhier also wants lobbying rules to be based on how relevant the issue is to the public. “Is a permit to change the colour of the brick on a factory or garage in a municipality, even if it’s a business, relevant to the resident? Probably not,” he said. “But if someone is trying to change laws and regulations outside the established legislative process, there’s reason to disclose lobbying more than in other contexts.”

He is also calling for a simple update: requiring lobbyists to say whether meetings with public officials actually happened. While the content of those meetings would not need to be shared, confirming that contact took place would help improve transparency.

In Gatineau and across the Outaouais, lobbying activity is steady and widespread. As of January 1, 2026, there were 430 active lobbying files in the region, including 214 in Gatineau. Most of these were filed by businesses or organizations trying to influence decisions at the municipal or regional level. The most common subjects in Gatineau were zoning, new developments, and technology projects. In the Outaouais more broadly, health care topped the list. “The biggest subject would be health,” said Routhier. “Second is information technologies, and the third is urbanism and land development.” The most frequently targeted public institutions included the City of Gatineau and the regional health authority, the CISSS de l’Outaouais.

The mayor and municipal councillors were the most commonly contacted public officials in Gatineau. Routhier said his office also provides training for public servants, journalists, and members of the public to help people understand how lobbying works and how it is regulated. More information, including the public registry of lobbying activity, is available at www.lobbyisme.quebec.

“Let’s just hope that we have a better law in a few months so that we can actually do our job better,” he said.