Underneath the Golden Boy - Robson Hall Faculty of Law

20 Underneath the Golden Boy
government to have a majority voice at LAMC, it is a step in the right direction
nevertheless.
C. Lobbyist Registration
Taking the lead of recent changes to the federal lobbyist registry, the provincial
government will put control of Manitoba's registry in the hands of an
independent officer of the Assembly. This is also a positive development that
was responsive to feedback generated during the committee process.
V. BILL 37: GOING FORWARD
Debate on Bill 37 will resume when the Legislature sits in the fall, as per a
sessional order passed 5 June 2008. 68 Report stage will end 30 September, and
the bill will be given third reading and Royal Assent no later than 9 October. 69
There is much work to do between when the House resumes sitting and
these dates. The government has been responsive to some of the criticism the
bill has received to date, but several negative aspects remain. In particular, close
attention should be given to its political financing provisions as described above.
Bill 37 was born as a comprehensive democratic reform package earlier this
year. The legislative process to date has been a success in that it has highlighted
many of the bill's shortcomings, and led to many improvements. It remains to be
seen how many more improvements will be put to paper, but the legislative
process has helped instil a bit of democracy and accountability into a bill that, in
theory, was supposed to be about both but, in reality, had little of either.
68
Debates (5 June 2008), supra note 2 at 2736.
69
Ibid.