Toughening the Lobbyists Registration Act

On April 11, 2006, the Government of Canada introduced the Federal Accountability Act and Action Plan, delivering on its commitment to make government more accountable. This is one of a series of fact sheets describing proposed actions to respond to this commitment.

The context

Lobbying is a legitimate part of our democratic system, but weaknesses with the current Lobbyists Registration Act have been identified. For example, compliance with registration requirements has been low, the information disclosed has been insufficient, and the Registrar of Lobbyists has lacked the necessary independence, powers, and resources to conduct effective investigations of possible infractions under the Lobbyists Registration Act.

The Action Plan

The Government of Canada will take steps to assure Canadians that lobbying is done in an ethical and transparent way. Specifically, the Federal Accountability Act will:

• establish a new Commissioner of Lobbying as an independent Agent of Parliament;
• provide the Commissioner with enhanced investigative powers and mandate to enforce compliance with the proposed Lobbying Act;
• prohibit ministers, ministerial staffers, transition team members and senior public servants from registering and lobbying the Government of Canada for five years after leaving office;
• ban any payment or other benefit contingent on the outcome of a consultant lobbyist's activity, and require all government contracts and agreements to state that contingency fees will not be paid;
• require that contacts with senior public-office holders be recorded; and
• double the criminal monetary penalties for lobbyists who fail to comply with the requirements of the Lobbying Act.

For more information

For more information on this specific measure, please refer to the relevant section of the Action Plan, or contact us.