Individuals who are paid to communicate with federal public office holders.
The Lobbyists Registration Act (the Act) and the Lobbyists Registration Regulations (the Regulations) originally came into force in 1989. The latest amendments to the Act and to the Regulations came into force on June 20, 2005. The Act states that individuals who are paid to communicate with federal public office holders - i.e. to lobby - in respect of the making, developing or amending of legislative proposals, bills, regulations, policies, programs, and the awarding of grants or contributions, are subject to the disclosure requirements established by the Act.
Individuals responsible for filing returns must disclose: the name of the their client or employer; some descriptive information about the organization or company and its subsidiaries or its parent company (if they have an interest in the lobbying activities); the members of coalition groups; specific information on the subject matters lobbied; the names of departments or agencies contacted; and the communications techniques used to lobby, including grassroots lobbying.
The Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists maintains a public registry which contains information disclosed by three categories of lobbyists:
Consultant lobbyists are individuals whom, for pay, lobby on behalf of a client. They may include government relations consultants, lawyers, notaries, accountants, engineers or other professional advisors who provide lobbying services for their clients.
Consultant lobbyists must need to :
In-house lobbyists (corporations) are employees of corporations that carry on commercial activities for financial gain and where the accumulated lobbying activities of all employees would constitute a significant part (20% or more) of the duties of one equivalent employee over a six-month period, or in any month during that period.
The officer responsible for filing returns (the most senior officer) is responsible for:
In-house lobbyists (organizations ) are employees of non-profit organizations who lobby on behalf of their organizations, where the accumulated lobbying activities of all employees would constitute a significant part (20% or more) of the duties of one equivalent employee over a six-month period, or for any month during that period.
The officer responsible for filing returns (the most senior officer) is responsible for:
Lobbyists of all three categories described above are required to comply with the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct.
Lobbyists may complete their registrations electronically, free of charge, by accessing the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists' Web site. Before lobbyists can use the Lobbyists Registration System to file a return, they must first create an account to provide identification for system access. More than 99 % of all lobbyists file electronically. There is an annual processing fee of $150 for lobbyists who submit their registration forms in paper format. For further information, please contact the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists.
All information collected under the Lobbyists Registration Act and the Lobbyists Registration Regulations is a matter of public record. The key objective of the registration system is to allow the general public to know who is lobbying federal public office holders, who benefits from the lobbying activities and on which subject areas these activities will focus. The information contained in the Registry of Lobbyists may be easily searched and retrieved to produce summary reports at no cost to users. The information includes who lobbies for which firms, companies or associations; which government departments or agencies are contacted; and the name or description of the specific legislative proposals, bills, regulations, policies, programs, grants, contributions, tax credits or contracts sought.
Publications also available on the Internet site include:
DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this section is of a general nature only and is not intended to constitute advice for any specific fact situation. For particular questions, the users are invited to contact their lawyer. For additional information, see contact(s) listed below.
New Brunswick Contact(s):
See National Contact.