A Guide to Registration

Lobbyists Registration Act

Introduction

Purpose of this guide

This guide has been developed to provide general information on the Lobbyists Registration Act, taking into account the amendments which came into force on June 20, 2005. It provides information on when and how to register.

Individuals who are paid to communicate with federal public office holders - i.e. to lobby - are subject to the disclosure requirements established by the Lobbyists Registration Act.

We have endeavored to answer as many questions as possible pertaining to the Lobbyists Registration Act and Regulations, but it should be noted that the guide is not a legal document. For additional information, refer to the Acts, Regulations and Other Documents section of this Web site.

Purpose of the Lobbyists Registration Act (Act)

The Lobbyists Registration Act was enacted in 1988 and was amended in 1995. The latest amendments to the Act came into force in June of 2005. The amended Act strengthens the enforcement provisions by clarifying what constitutes lobbying for which a registration is required. With the removal of the expression “in an attempt to influence”, emphasis is placed on “communications” with public office holders in respect of the development of any legislative proposal, the introduction of a Bill or resolution, amendments to regulations, the development or amendment of a policy or program, the awarding of a grant, contribution, tax credit or other financial benefit and, in the specific case of consultant lobbyists, the awarding of a government contract. Communications which are restricted to a request for information which is purely administrative in nature will not require registration. The amended Act also eliminates the exemption for government initiated communications. Finally, the amendments create a single registration system covering lobbyists employed by businesses and lobbyists employed by not-for-profit organizations.

Four basic principles are set out in the preamble to the Act:

• Free and open access to government is an important matter of public interest.
• Lobbying public office holders is a legitimate activity.
• It is desirable that public office holders and the public be able to know who is engaged in lobbying activities.
• The system for the registration of paid lobbyists should not impede free and open access to government.

Public Registry

All information collected under the Lobbyists Registration Act and the Lobbyists Registration Regulations is a matter of public record. The objective of the public registry is to ensure that the general public and public office holders know who is communicating with the government.
Information submitted in registration forms is accessible to all Canadians by writing, telephoning or visiting the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists, or via the Internet through the on-line Lobbyists Registration System.

Public Office Holders

Lobbying involves individuals who are paid to communicate with public office holders.
A public office holder is defined broadly as “any officer or employee of Her Majesty in right of Canada.” This includes:

• Members of the Senate or of the House of Commons (Senators, Members of Parliament, Ministers) and their staffs;
• Persons appointed to an office by a Minister of the Crown or the Governor in Council;
• An officer director or employee of any federal board, commission or other tribunal;
• Members of the Canadian Armed Forces;
• Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; and
• Employees of federal departments.

Who does not need to register?

The Act excludes the following public officials from registration as lobbyists when they are acting in their official capacity:

• Members of the legislature of a province or territory or their staffs;
• Employees of provincial and territorial governments;
• Members of local or municipal governments or their staffs;
• Employees of local or municipal governments;
• Members of the council of a band as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Indian Act or of the council of an Indian band established by an Act of Parliament, or their staffs;
• Diplomatic agents, consular officers, or official representatives in Canada of foreign governments; and
• Officials of a specialized agency of the United Nations or officials of any other international organization granted privileges and immunities by Parliament.

If any of the above public officials or their organizations hire third-party consultants to lobby; these consultant lobbyists would be subject to the registration requirements.

Who must register?

Registration requirements for the three categories of lobbyists:

• Consultant lobbyists. These are individuals who, for pay, lobby for clients. They must complete and file a consultant lobbyists registration when they begin lobbying for a client and when information previously submitted changes. Consultant lobbyists must file semi-annually unless they have advised the Registrar of the completion or termination of their undertaking prior to the expiry of the period within which the semi-annual filing is due.
  
• In-house corporate lobbyists. These are corporations (entities who carry out commercial activities for financial gain) in which one or more employees lobby, and the collective time devoted to lobbying amounts to 20% or more of one equivalent employee’s time. The most senior officer of the corporation must complete and file an in-house corporate lobbyists registration when the corporation begins to lobby and semi-annually thereafter.
  
• In-house organization lobbyists. These are not-for-profit organizations in which one or more employees lobby, and the collective time devoted to lobbying amounts to 20% or more of one equivalent employee’s time. The most senior officer of the organization must complete and file an in-house organization lobbyists registration when the organization begins to lobby and semi-annually thereafter.

More detailed information on the registration requirements for the three categories of lobbyists is provided in the next three sections.

Consultant Lobbyists Registration Requirements

(Section 5 of the Act)

Consultants or professional lobbyists are individuals who, for payment and on behalf of a client, communicate with public office holders. Consultant lobbyists may include government relations consultants, lawyers, notaries, engineers, accountants or other professional advisors who provide lobbying services for their clients.

They are required to register when they arrange a meeting between their client and a federal public office holder. They are also required to register for each undertaking for a client when they lobby for:

• The making, developing or amending of legislative proposals, bills or resolutions, regulations, policies or programs;
• The awarding of grants, contributions, tax credits or other financial benefits; and
• The awarding of contracts.

The “client” is the individual, organization or corporation on whose behalf the consultant undertakes the lobbying activities and who would be the true beneficiary of the lobbying.

An “undertaking” is defined by the agreement or contract, written or verbal, between the client and the lobbyist and not by the government activities about which the lobbyist seeks to communicate. The scope of these agreements or contracts may be very broad and require lobbying on several activities or may be very narrowly focused on only one activity. They may describe precisely the nature of the lobbying activities or only imply them. What is important is the existence of a relationship within which the activities will eventually take place. Also, undertakings may be concurrent or sequential. New or amended agreements or contracts with substantially different subject matters signify new undertakings. In such a case, separate registrations are required.

A consultant lobbyist must complete and file a consultant lobbyists registration with the Registrar within 10 days of entering into an undertaking on behalf of a client. Changes to any information previously submitted must be reported within 30 days in accordance with the requirements for consultant lobbyists registrations. Thereafter, a return will need to be filed for each undertaking no later than 30 days after the expiry of every six months from the date of the initial filing or amendment of the undertaking.

There is no need to file a return at the expiry of every six months when the Registrar has already been advised of the completion or termination of the undertaking in accordance with the requirements for the registration of consultant lobbyists.

A firm may assign several consultants to work on the same undertaking for the same client. In such a case, much of the information in one registration form may be common to the forms of all consultants. However, each consultant lobbyist is individually responsible for compliance with the Act, and must certify the information in his or her registration form.

The following information must be disclosed for each lobbying undertaking:

• Name, position title and business address of the lobbyist;
• Name and business address of the lobbying firm;
• Client name and business address;
• Name of the principal representative of the client;
• Name and business address of any person or organization that controls or directs the client’s activities;
• If the client is a corporation, the name and business address of the parent corporation and those subsidiaries which directly benefit from the lobbying;
• If the client is a coalition, the names and business addresses of the corporate and organizational members;
• If the individual is a former public office holder, a description of the offices held;
• Subject matters including the specific legislative proposal, bill or resolution, regulation, policy, program, grant, contribution, other financial benefit or contract sought;
• Name of each department or other governmental institution lobbied;
• Source and amount of any government funding provided to the client; and
• Whether payment is contingent on the success of the lobbying; and communication techniques used, including grass-roots lobbying.

Questions and Answers

1. Can my firm register me as a consultant lobbyist?
It is the responsibility of individual consultant lobbyists to file a registration form within 10 days of each undertaking. The individual lobbyist is also responsible for reporting all changes to information and for reporting the termination of an undertaking.

2. Most of my work involves monitoring federal government activities for my client and giving advice. I work under a general retainer that does not specify the types of activities covered by the Act. Do I have to register?
Monitoring federal government activities and giving advice are some of the activities which are not necessarily registerable under the Act but, if there is a possibility that the undertaking may lead to registrable lobbying activities as defined under the Act or if the scope of the undertaking changes to include registrable activities, you must register within 10 days as a consultant lobbyist.

3. I am a lawyer and I have a professional obligation to maintain client confidentiality. Does the Act exempt me from reporting representations carried out on behalf of any client?
The Act does not exempt any paid lobbyist, including professionals such as lawyers, notaries, engineers and accountants from compliance with its provisions. There are a very limited number of exceptions, such as submissions with respect to the enforcement, interpretation or application of existing legislations, regulations or policies. The deciding issue is whether or not you are carrying out any of the lobbying activities listed in the Act.

4. Must I list every subsidiary of my client?
You must list those subsidiaries of the client corporation that have a direct interest in the outcome of your lobbying activities for the client.

5. Does the parent company of the organization that I am lobbying for have to be listed in the registration form when it will not directly benefit from the lobbying activity?
Yes. Where the client is a corporation, the Act requires that the parent company of the corporation be identified on the registration form.

6. What does “any person or organization, that to the knowledge of the individual, controls or directs the activities of the client” mean?
This refers to the requirement to identify those persons or organizations that directly intervene in the day-to-day concerns of the consultant lobbyist’s client or who exercise a controlling influence over the activities of the client.

7. My client won’t provide me with the information I need to report on my client’s subsidiaries. What should I do?
Under the Act, you have a personal legal obligation to provide the required information within the specified time frames. Therefore, you need to ask your client to provide you with the required details so that you can avoid contravening the Act by conducting unregistered lobbying activities. Failure to comply with the Act may lead to charges being laid against the consultant lobbyist, not the client.

8. What are the rules respecting contingency fees?
Under the Lobbyists Registration Act, lobbyists must indicate whether they charge contingency fees (fees based on the degree of success of a lobbying undertaking). Please note that rules on contingency fees relating to federal contracts, grants and contributions are available from departmental contracting authorities or the Treasury Board Secretariat (see section 8.5.4 - Basic provisions to include within contribution agreements, of the Guide on Grants, Contributions and Other Transfer Payments, available at the following address: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/dcgpubs/tbm_133/ggcotp-gscapt8_e.asp ).

9. I am a consultant lobbyist but I am also an active volunteer for an organization that occasionally lobbies the federal government. I am not an employee of this organization and I do not receive payment for my work, but sometimes I get involved in its lobbying activities. Do I have to register?
If you are simply participating as a volunteer in the lobbying activities of an organization, you need not register. However, if you are being paid to lobby on behalf of the organization through the services of your consulting firm, you must register as a consultant lobbyist.

10. I have been retained as a consultant lobbyist to provide lobbying services on behalf of another level of government. Am I exempted from registration?
No. If your client is another level of government, you must register as a consultant lobbyist. However, if you are an employee of that government and are acting in an official capacity, you are not required to register under the Act.

11. Under the Act I have 10 days to report a new lobbying undertaking. I have an undertaking that will take less than 10 days to complete. Do I have to register even though the activity will have been completed before it has to be registered?
Yes. You must register an undertaking even if it was completed before the 10-day registration period elapsed. You must also file a registration disclosing the termination of the undertaking, otherwise you will be required to file a semi-annual return.

12. Do I have to file a registration form if I am participating in a government initiated consultation?
Yes. Any paid communication with a public office holder on behalf of a person in respect of the development of any legislative proposal, the introduction of a Bill or resolution, the making or amendment of a regulation, policy or program or the awarding of a grant, contribution, tax credit, other financial benefit or of a contract, is considered a lobbying activity for which a registration is required.

13. My client hired me to provide lobbying services in a variety of subject areas. Now I am no longer dealing with some of the areas. Do I have to report this?
Yes. This is a change in the information you filed previously with the Registrar. The registration form must now be updated within 30 days to reflect the fact that you are no longer carrying out lobbying activities for your client in a particular area of concern.

14. What happens when I complete all lobbying activity for my client?
The Act requires that you terminate the registration within 30 days of the termination of an undertaking.

In-house lobbyists (corporation)
Registration requirements

(Section 7 of the Act)

Registration forms for in-house lobbyists (corporation) must be completed and filed by the most senior officer of the corporation when one or more employees communicate with public office holders - i.e. lobby - and where the accumulated activity of all such employees would constitute a significant part (20% or more) of the duties of one equivalent employee. For the purpose of estimating the proportion of the employee’s duties devoted to lobbying, one can use the time spent on each part of the duties as an indicator to estimate the time spent communicating and preparing for communicating with public office holders.over a period of six months. If, over the course of those six months, the 20 % threshold is met or exceeded over any one-month period, then registration becomes necessary.

Lobbyist registration is required with respect to the following matters:

• The making, developing or amending of legislative proposals, bills or resolutions, regulations, policies, programs; or
• The awarding of grants, contributions, tax credits or other financial benefits.

In-house corporate lobbyists are usually full-time employees and officers of the company. Their primary function is usually public affairs or government relations work, even though such distinctions may not be reflected in the individual’s title. Their duties would include communications with federal public office holders, whether formal or informal. When the accumulated lobbying duties by all paid employees would constitute 20% of those of one equivalent employee over a period of six months, or if this threshold is reached during at least one of those months, the officer responsible for filing returns must file a registration in which those employees would be listed. The officer responsible is usually the employee who holds the most senior office in the corporation.

It is the responsibility of the most senior officer of the corporation to complete and file an in-house lobbyists corporation registration within two months after one or more employees commence lobbying on behalf of the corporation. A new registration must be filed with the Registrar every six months thereafter. Updates must also be filed within 30 days when employees modify or cease their lobbying activities, or cease employment with the corporation.

The following information must be disclosed:

• Name and position title of the officer responsible for filing returns;
• Name and business address of the corporation;
• Name and business address of the parent corporation and those subsidiaries that directly benefit from the lobbying;
• Names of the senior officers (chief executive officer, chief operating officer or president; and any other officer who reports directly to one of them) whocommunicate at any time with public office holders;
• Names of other employees of the corporation who lobby as a significant part of their duties (20% or more over a six-month period, or if there is a peak reaching or exceeding the 20% threshold during any of those six months);
• A general description of the corporation’s business or activities;
• If any employee or senior officer named in the return is a former public office holder, a description of the offices held with the federal government;
• Subject matters including the specific legislative proposals, bills or resolutions, regulations, policies, programs, grants, contributions, tax credits or other financial benefits sought;
• Name of each department or other governmental institution lobbied;
• Source and amount of any government funding received by the corporation; and
• Communication techniques used, including grass-roots lobbying.

Questions and Answers

1. My association is incorporated. Does this require registering as an in-house corporate lobbyist or as an in-house organization lobbyist?
Registration as an in-house corporate lobbyist is required if you work for a corporation that carries on commercial activities for financial gain. If your employer’s activities are not carried on for financial gain, registration would be required as an in-house organization lobbyist.

2. My job involves trying to get government contracts for my company. I am in marketing. Does this activity have to be taken into account in order to determine if the total amount of time dedicated to lobbying constitutes a “significant part” of my duties or of the duties of other employees?
No. The legislation does not cover communications between federal public office holders and employees of commercial organizations whose job is to sell their company’s products and services.

3. I lobby for my corporation but occasionally lobby for the parent company or for a subsidiary company. Do the senior officers of each company have to file separate registration forms?
No. Your employer is required to file one registration form covering the lobbying that you perform for him or her. In the registration, he or she must disclose the name of parent corporations and those subsidiaries which directly benefit from the lobbying activities.

4. My company hired me to conduct lobbying activities on several different subject matters. When I am assigned an additional or new subject matter or issue, does this have to be reported by the officer responsible for filing returns on behalf of the corporation?
Yes. You are required under the Act to provide any changes to information not later than 30 days after the change or knowledge of the change of information is acquired.

5. What should I do if my employment situation changes or if I change duties and no longer lobby for my employer?
Once you cease lobbying for your employer, the most senior officer responsible for filing returns on behalf of the corporation has 30 days to file an amendment to the corporate registration, fully disclosing the appropriate modifications to the Registrar.

6. Do all employees of the corporation who have contacts with the federal government have to be named in the registration form?
The most senior officer responsible for filing returns must list in the registration form the names of all the senior officers who communicate, even minimally, with public office holders in addition to the names of those employees who communicate with public office holders as a significant part of their duties (20 percent or more of their time is dedicated to lobbying). The registration should not be used to list the names of employees who do not lobby as defined under the Act.

7. The activities on which my corporation lobbies remain the same from year to year. Do I have to file a new registration form every six months?
No, not a new registration but a renewal of the registration. The Act requires the officer responsible for filing returns to file a registration form reporting on lobbying activities for the previous six months and the planned activities for the next six months.

8. My corporation does not lobby the federal government on a continuing basis but it does occasionally lobby the federal government on short-term projects. Does the officer responsible for filing returns on behalf of my corporation have to register for this?
If the lobbying activity involves work that would be considered a significant part of the duties of one employee or if performed by several employees, the total amount of time would equal a 20% or more of the duties spent by one employee if they were performed by only one equivalent employee over a period of six monts, or if this threshold is reached during any month within that period, the officer responsible for filing returns on behalf of the corporation must file an in-house corporate lobbyists registration form within two months of the beginning of the lobbying project. Once the project is completed and the corporation’s employees cease lobbying, the officer responsible for filing returns must file a notice within 30 days, advising the Registrar of the fact that the employees have ceased lobbying.

9. As an employee, I lobby for my corporation but the senior officer in my corporation does not participate in any of the lobbying activities. Who completes the registration form?
Any employee, including the most senior officer responsible for filing returns, may complete the registration form, but the most senior officer responsible for filing returns is the only one who may certify the information submitted and file the completed registration with the Registrar. The most senior officer of the corporation is personally accountable for registering and for certifying that the information is accurate and complete. If the most senior officer begins to participate in lobbying activities, this must be reflected by making the appropriate changes to the registration.

10. My corporation contracts with individuals who perform lobbying activities on our behalf. We do not have an employer-employee relationship with these individuals who do this work for us. Do we list their names on the registration form as employees who lobby?
No. If these individuals are not employees of your corporation but perform lobbying work for your corporation on a contract basis, they would be considered consultant lobbyists. Each of these consultant lobbyists would need to file the Consultant Lobbyists Registration form and identify your corporation as the client.

In-house lobbyists (organization)
Registration requirements

(Section 7 of the Act)

A registration for in-house lobbyists (corporation and organization) must be completed and filed by the officer responsible for filing returns on behalf of the organization when one or more employees communicate with public office holders - i.e. lobby - and where the accumulated activities of all such employees would constitute a significant part of the duties (20% or more) of only one equivalent employee. For the purpose of estimating the proportion of the employee’s duties devoted to lobbying, one can use the time spent on each part of the duties as an indicator to estimate the time spent communicating and preparing for communicating with public office holders.over a period of six months. If, over the course of those six months, the 20 % threshold is met or exceeded over any one-month period, then registration becomes necessary.

Lobbyist registration is required with respect to the following matters:

• The making, developing or amending of legislative proposals, bills or resolutions, regulations, policies, programs; or
• The awarding of grants, contributions, tax credits or other financial benefits.

Many organizations have paid employees who work on government relations, public affairs or specific policy areas or issues. These employees may communicate, even though infrequently, with elected or appointed federal public office holders. When the accumulated lobbying duties by all paid employees would constitute 20% or more of the duties of one equivalent employee over a six-month period, or if this threshold is reached during any month in that period, the officer responsible for filing returns must file a registration in which those employees would be listed.

It is the responsibility of the officer responsible for filing returns on behalf of the organization to complete and file an in-house lobbyists organization registration within two months after one or more employees commence lobbying on behalf of the organization. A new registration must be filed with the Registrar every six months thereafter. An amendment must also be filed within 30 days when employees modify or ease their lobbying activities or cease employment with the organization.

The following information must be disclosed:

• Name and position title of the senior officer;
• Name and business address of the organization;
• Names of employees who lobby including, as applicable, the senior officer;
• General description of the organization’s business or activities;
• General description of the organization’s membership;
• If any employee named in the return is a former public office holder, a description of the offices held with the federal government;
• Subject matters including the specific legislative proposals, bills or resolutions, regulations, policies, programs, grants or contributions or other financial benefits sought;
• Name of each department or other governmental institution lobbied;
• Source and amount of any government funding received by the organization; and
• Communication techniques used, including grass-roots lobbying.

Questions and Answers

1. Do all employees of the organization who have contacts with the federal government have to be named in the registration form?
The officer responsible for filing returns must list in the registration the names of those employees who perform lobbying activities. The registration should not be used to list the names of employees who do not lobby as defined under the Act.

2. The activities on which my organization lobbies remain the same from year to year. Do I have to file a new registration form every six months?
No, not a new registration but a renewal of the registration. The Act requires the officer responsible for filing returns to file a registration disclosing all lobbying activities for the previous six months and the planned activities for the next six months.

3. My organization does not lobby the federal government on a continuing basis but it does occasionally lobby the federal government on short-term projects. Does the officer responsible for filing returns on behalf of my organization have to register for this?
If the lobbying activity involves work that would be considered a significant part of the duties of one employee (20% or more over a 6-month period or if it reaches this threshold during any month in that period), the officer responsible for filing returns on behalf of the organization must file an in-house organization lobbyists registration within two months of the beginning of the lobbying project. Once the project is completed and the organization’s employees stop or modify their lobbying activities, the officer responsible for filing returns must file an amendment within 30 days advising the Registrar of the fact that employees have modified or ceased their lobbying activities.

4. On my own time, I am an active member of an organization that occasionally lobbies the federal government. I am not an employee of the organization but sometimes I get involved in the lobbying activities. Do I have to register?
No. As long as you lobby on a volunteer basis - i.e. not paid - you do not have to register. If the organization begins to pay you for your services, other than a standard reimbursement of expenses, the organization’s officer responsible for filing returns would be responsible for including your name in the organization’s registration.

5. As an employee, I lobby for my organization but the officer responsible for filing returns in my organization does not participate in any of the lobbying activities. Who completes the registration?
Any employee, including the officer responsible for filing returns, may complete the registration, but the officer responsible for filing returns is responsible for certifying the information submitted and filing the completed registration with the Registrar. The responsible officer is personally accountable for registering and for certifying that the information is accurate and complete. If the officer responsible for filing returns begins to participate in lobbying activities, this must be appropriately reflected by updating the registration.

6. My organization, an association, must register its employees as in-house organization lobbyists. Do I have to list the names of all my association’s members?
No. Associations have a formal purpose and structure and their membership lists are usually already available to the public. Therefore, it is not necessary to list the individual or group members of an association in the registration. However, it is necessary to provide a general description of the organization’s membership or classes of membership.

7. My organization is a coalition of special interest groups. Do I have to name the coalition members?
Yes. Coalitions are usually temporary alliances formed for lobbying on particular issues, and the interests or beneficiaries of such groups may not be known. Therefore, you should list the groups that make up the coalition’s membership under the section in the registration where you are required to describe the organization’s membership.

8. My organization contracts with individuals to perform lobbying activities on our behalf. We do not have an employer-employee relationship with these individuals who do this work for us. Do we list their names on the registration form as employees who lobby?
No. If these individuals are not employees of your organization but perform lobbying work for your organization on a contract basis, they would be considered consultant lobbyists. Each of these consultant lobbyists would need to file a consultant lobbyists registration and identify your organization as the client.

General Registration Requirements

Questions and Answers

1. Do I have to report every public office holder that I talk to?
No. The Act requires that you report in the registration the names of the departments or other government institutions.

2. Do I have to disclose informal contacts that I make with public office holders during social events?
Yes. If business is discussed during social events, you need to check off the box labeled “Informal communication” in the registration, under the section on communication techniques, and ensure that the appropriate government departments and institutions are listed.

3. Do I have to register every time I communicate with a public office holder?
No. A registration may cover a series of separate communications with public office holders on the same issue or subject matter.

4. What is “grass-roots” lobbying?
Grass-roots lobbying is a communications technique that encourages individual members of the public or organizations to communicate directly with public office holders. Such efforts primarily rely on use of the media or advertising, and result in mass letter writing and facsimile campaigns, telephone calls to public office holders, and public demonstrations.

5. I am involved in organizing and directing a grass-roots lobbying campaign. Do I have to register?
If you are a registered lobbyist, you must report grass-roots lobbying as a communications technique. If you are a paid and are involved in a grass-roots campaign it is necessary to register.

6. When I complete the registration form, can I list just the initials or acronym of the corporation or organization?
The full name of the firm, corporation or organization must be disclosed in the registration. You may add the popular acronym after the full name in the first instance, and use the acronym thereafter.

7. In the registration, there is a general listing of subject matters. The issues I lobby about aren’t identified in this listing. What do I do?
At the end of this general listing of subject matters, there is a category for “Other” where you should identify those subject matters that do not appear in the pre-defined listing.

8. There is a requirement in the Act to provide particulars of the subject matters lobbied. What level of detail do I provide?
You are to provide the name and description of the legislative proposals, bills or resolutions, regulations, policies or programs, grants, contributions, tax credits or other financial benefits for which you lobby. Lobbyists must also provide the name and description of contracts. Some examples would be Canada ABC Act, or Bill 999 (1996) An Act to Amend XYZ Act, contract XYZ to supply XYZ, or the Policy on XYZ, or the XYZ Regulations, or the XYZ Program. A brief description is required as to why you are lobbying with reference to the above-mentioned Act, Legislation, Bills, etc. (e.g., with respect to its implementation and/or review of.......).

9. What do I have to include when I report government funding?
You must report the source and amount of funding from any Canadian or foreign government, including any municipal, provincial, regional, or state government. Funding means money made available for a particular purpose for which goods or services are not received in return or for which repayment is not intended. Funding would include federal grants and non-repayable contributions, but repayable contributions, loan, loan guarantees, tax credits, remission orders and procurement contracts would not need to be reported. The requirement to report funding is not to be confused with the obligation to register for lobbying to obtain the award of an “other financial benefit.”

10. If I communicate with a public office holder in response to a request made by that public office holder, do I have to register?
Previously, communications which took place following a written request from a public office holder did not have to be disclosed. With the removal of the exception, all communications with public office holders will become registrable if they meet the other criteria set by the Act, such as payment, significant part of duties, etc.

11. If I am communicating with a public office holder to obtain publicly available information, do I have to register?
No. If the information is already in the public domain (e.g. government publications, internet, phone directories etc.) then would not require a registration.

12. If I am a former public office holder, what details do I need to include in the registration form?
You must indicate a description of the offices held. See the Interpretation Bulletin entitled “Disclosure of previous public offices” for more information.

What Activities: Do Not Require Registration?

Registration is not required for:

• Oral or written submissions to parliamentary committees where there is a public record;
• Oral or written submissions made to any person or body which has jurisdiction or powers under a federal statute, in proceedings that are a matter of public record;
• Oral or written communications made to a public office holder with respect to the enforcement, interpretation or application of any existing federal statute or regulation by that official (for example, routine dealings with government inspectors and other regulatory authorities; other law enforcement officers; licensing authorities; taxation, legal, and customs officials); or
• Oral or written communication made to a public office holder if the communication is restricted to a simple request for information.

How Are the Registration Requirements Enforced?

It is the responsibility of lobbyists to comply with the Act.

Ongoing education and communications programs are intended to help facilitate compliance with the Act. The Registrar may also issue advisory opinions and interpretation bulletins to help lobbyists understand the Act's registration provisions.

The Act provides for substantial penalties for lobbyists if they fail to register, or make false or misleading statements in their registration forms. If, during the course of an investigation, the Registrar believes on reasonable grounds that a person has committed an offence under the Act or any other Act of Parliament or of the legislature of a province, the Registrar may advise a peace officer having jurisdiction to investigate the alleged offence. Section 14 of the Act states that such contraventions may carry fines of up to $25,000 or jail terms of up to two years upon summary conviction. The legislation sets a two-year limitation period from the date of the alleged offence for enforcement proceedings, after which no charges can be laid.

The Registrar (and his/her delegates) has the authority to request clarification or verification of any information submitted by lobbyists. Under the Act, lobbyists are obligated to respond to these requests in a timely fashion.