New Cardus report explores the consequences of ‘circular lobbying’ and the eroding autonomy of civil society.
Democracy depends on citizens organizing independently of the state.
When government funds the groups it consults, civil society stops being a check on power and instead is at risk of becoming an extension of it.
A new Cardus paper From Advocates to Insiders uses the case study of the development of child care legislation to discuss the consequences of ‘circular lobbying.’ Before Bill C-35, An Act Respecting Early Learning and Child Care in Canada, was even tabled, Ottawa created its own advisory bodies on childcare and some of the same groups it funded later returned as “independent” witnesses on the bill.
Analysis by Cardus showed, among organizations invited as witnesses during House of Commons committee hearings on Bill C-35, those which supported the government’s $10-a-day daycare plans received $1,300 in government support for every dollar received by an organization that was critical or unsupportive. Forty-four groups testified before Parliament and the Senate about child care in 2023. Thirty-eight (86%) were in favour. Only six (14%) were opposed.
In total, 38 supportive organizations who testified in support of the Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act received $1.1 billion between 2020 and 2024. Some of the organizations receiving funding including lobbying bodies which were embedded in expert panels, contributed to policy development, and helped decide which organizations should receive funding – yet these organizations provide no childcare spaces themselves. These numbers are inclusive of all federal government funding received during the four year period.
Cardus was the only group opposed to Bill C-35 to receive government funding during the four year time period, to the tune of $899,043.
“When the government consults with independent organizations, public trust in the democratic process is strengthened, government gains insight into the views of citizens, and the diversity of views improves policies and laws for Canadians,” says Andrea Mrozek, Senior Fellow for Cardus Family and one of the paper’s authors. “However, when the government is paying these organizations to lobby government in support of the government’s own policies, it creates an uneven playing field. It may even damage the credibility of those receiving funding.”
Though the paper uses Canada’s daycare system as an example, the observations made apply to a multitude of sectors and industries where the government pays organizations to consult on policy, develop programs, implement those programs, and then defend said programs at House of Commons committees or within public forums, all without disclosing their proximity to the government’s work or the direct funding received.
Circular lobbying represents an erosion of the power and autonomy of civil society institutions who, in accepting these arrangements, compromise the trust and independence necessary to offer critical commentary and meaningful feedback on the government’s work. Though some of these organizations may support the government’s plans and policies regardless of funding, such as those which support the government’s “affordable childcare program,” their support cannot be separated from the direct funding received.
“We believe civil society groups should represent a base of citizen supporters; be entirely or primarily funded by these supporters and or by other non-governmental sources; and determine their own views and positions, representing their supporters,” adds Mrozek. “Too much government funding risks civil society functioning as an arm of government instead of representing a grassroots constituency. And federal tax dollars flowing to groups means taxpayers are subsidizing views they may not endorse.”
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Andrea Mrozek
Étienne-Alexandre Beauregard
Cardus – Imagination toward a thriving society
Cardus is a non-partisan think tank dedicated to clarifying and strengthening, through research and dialogue, the ways in which society’s institutions can work together for the common good.