Now we start looking at some of the standards that govern how Parliament operates, and especially the concept of parliamentary privilege.  Read Forcese, Dodek et al, pp. 250-296 (except "Ethics in Law Making" 267-273, which we deal with later).  Listen to Podcast 12: Parliamentary Proceedings and Privilege.

This is a good time to get cracking on Public Lawyering Project 3, on tracking lobbying in the legislative process.

In this project, we will examine how it is possible to track lobbying on particular federal law projects or policies. First, you will need to decide what you want to track. Here, we will focus on legislation, because it is one of the topics of this course. So pick a recent bill that has gone through the parliamentary process – visit LegisInfo on the Parliament of Canada website. There, find a bill that interests you – but try to pick one that has gone through more than first reading (and therefore has probably attracted more attention). Also try to pick one that you suspect might be the sort of things that some group or entity might have an interest in (that is, which might attract lobbying).

Now visit the Lobbyist Commissioner database. Figure out how to search that database so that you can track lobbying activity in relation to the bill you have selected. (Use those computer search skills).

Write up a maximum 2 page report (1.5 or double spaced) dealing with the following: 1. What was the bill you selected, and what did it deal with. 2. Was there lobbying activity on the bill, and how did you determine this (e.g., what searches did you run). 3. Who was lobbying and could you discern their position? 4. Did anything in your findings surprise you?

This report is due no later than Practice 14 (October 27) and must be sent to me by email at cforcese@uottawa.ca. Be prepared to discuss your findings in Practice 16.