Winnipeg city councillors Kevin Klein and Shawn Nason declined an invite to have lunch with a developer looking to buy Portage Place shopping centre, because they say the information discussed at the meeting should’ve been shared publicly.

Councillors received an invite to attend a luncheon, which ran for an hour and a half at the Inn at the Forks at noon on July 16, held by the potential buyer Toronto-based Starlight Investments. The lunch was held one day before city council votes on the sale of the downtown mall.

“All things considered, it just didn’t seem right to go there,” said Nason. “To me if it was important for Starlight Investments to talk about their plan they should’ve came here and presented in front of council like all other members of the community have the opportunity to do.

“It didn’t sit right with me. It’s more that it was behind closed doors.”

The Forks North Portage Partnership currently owns the land and the parking garage, while the shopping centre itself is owned by a private company.

In order for the sale to move forward, it must be approved by all three shareholders: the City of Winnipeg and the federal and provincial governments.

Klein felt it would’ve been inappropriate to attend the luncheon.

“This is lobbying in my opinion,” said Klein. “We’re asked to vote on this on Thursday and what if we hear something in there that isn’t going to be made public and we base our vote on that. Whether it’s yes or no, that’s inappropriate. We’re representatives of the taxpayer so we kept them out of that meeting.”

Coun. Ross Eadie said he went to the meeting to learn more about the company and their ideas for Portage Place.

“They were talking about what their concept is if they end up completing the sale,” said Eadie, who supports the sale. “They had four or five representatives and we had a couple of sandwiches and a pop and some dainties.

“It’s a lunch meeting, it’s a business thing. They didn’t spend a lot of money – there was no bribes or anything like that.”

Coun. Janice Lukes doesn’t see it as lobbying. She also attended the meeting to get more information on the project because she couldn’t attend a council seminar on the project earlier this month.

“Basically they just told us what their intentions were,” said Lukes. “I don’t think it was lobbying, I perceived it as information sharing.”

Lukes said the city’s integrity commissioner Sherri Walsh said it would be okay for councillors to go.

Walsh said, as a rule, she doesn’t discuss specific advice sought or given to councillors.

She said lobbying is acceptable as long as it’s done in a transparent way.

“It’s important for members of the public to know who’s meeting with council and for what purpose,” said Walsh. “I don’t have any opinion as to whether, in the circumstances that you’ve raised, whether that entity is a lobbyist.”

Klein said the public had no way of knowing about the luncheon. 

“How is it open and transparent but I can’t talk to you about it because it’s confidential,” he said.

Walsh said the city has a voluntary lobbyist registry but the Starlight luncheon isn’t listed in the registry.

Walsh said if an entity falls within the definition of a lobbyist it’s best practice to fill out the registration.

“The voluntary lobbyist rules allow for 10 days after the interaction for a lobbyist to register who they met with, what was the purpose,” said Walsh.

As for the lunch, Walsh said it’s acceptable to accept lunch or light refreshments if it’s offered as a matter of social protocol or obligation, such as during the course of a meeting.

“If they’re going to be offered some sandwiches, I think that falls within the general acceptability rules,” said Walsh. “If they arrive at the lunch and lo and behold there’s potato salad, too, I don’t think there’s anything that says ‘I can take the sandwich but I’m not eating the potato salad.’”

She said councillors can disclose lunches they accept even it falls below the threshold for having to disclose, which is $50.

CTV Winnipeg has reached out to Starlight Investments and a local company working with the developer for comment on the luncheon but so far they haven’t responded.