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VICTORIA — Attorney-General David Eby pulled out all of the rhetorical stops this week in trumpeting an NDP government bill to toughen regulation of lobbying.

The bill was “unprecedented,” Eby declared. Also “sweeping” “aggressive,” “significant” and “urgent.”

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The more Eby talked about the bill, the more grandiose were his testimonials, until one had to wonder whether the poor little thing could bear the weight of the minister’s language.

For the Lobbyist Registration Amendment Act, Bill 8 on the order paper for the fall session, covers a mere three pages and nine brief sections.

Moreover, what it does NOT do is at least significant as what it does do.

The bill does ban former cabinet ministers, parliamentary secretaries, senior public servants, and well-placed political staffers, from lobbying government for two years after leaving office.

But the ban does not apply to former MLAs and party officials, an oversight that could work to the benefit of some well-positioned New Democrats.