Councillors and Senior Staff to be Banned from Lobbying for Year after Tenure Ends

Updated Story

A proposed “cooling down” policy for senior staff is being extended to cover former City Councillors after an amendment at Council’s Audit, Finance, and Administration Committee moved by Councillor Brenda Johnson.

“We should be leading by example,” said Johnson. “If we are imposing this on employees, we should be doing the exact same thing.”

The issue will return from Governance Committee in time to be in force for the next term of Council.

Original Story

City staff will no longer be able to walk out the door of City Hall and into employment with private corporations they oversaw, if Council approves a new ban on the practice.

The new policy will forbid, for one year, senior managers (Director level and above) from accepting employment, appointment, or benefits from entities they had “significant dealings with” during their time as senior staff.

Lobbying is also forbidden for one year.

City staff need to work on the exact wording of the new prohibition and bring it back to Council in September for approval.

There is no effective date for the prohibition to take effect is in the staff report.

Read the Full Report Below: