Earlier, we wondered whether it was odd that government relations giant Hill and Knowlton Inc. would be co-hosting a private roundtable with Treasury Board president John Baird to discuss the Accountability Act - legislation that is supposed to toughen up the rules around lobbying. But the C.D. Howe Institute, which is organizing the event, doesn't think so. In an interview, the institute's development and public affairs director Duncan Munn explained, "They're a registered lobbyist. They have different aspects to their business - including media relations and communications and things like that. So, from our perspective, we're operating above the political fray. And the whole point of the exercise is to educate people about the Accountability Act and what's involved.

Mr. Munn added "Hill and Knowlton is not sponsoring this event with any money whatsoever. Michael Coates, the chief executive officer of Hill and Knowlton, is well-known in Ottawa. And we always have co-hosts for all of our events...just to to send invitations out and encourage people to attend." So Hill and Knowlton's role is limited to sending invitations out and encouraging people to attend the event? "Yeah. I mean they don't have a role in terms of anything else. Michael Coates just agreed to, in effect, introduce the topic to people in Ottawa where he's well-known."