Lobbyists Registration

Act: Lobbyists Registration Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 44, 4th Supp., as amended by S.C. 1995, c.12 and S.C. 2003, c.10
Regulation: Lobbyists Registration Regulations, SOR/2005-146

To Whom Does This Apply?

Individuals who are paid to communicate with federal public office holders.

Summary

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.  

Three categories of lobbyists

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 :

• register within 10 days of initiating an undertaking;
• register for arranging meetings with public office holders or communicating in respect of legislative proposals, bills, resolutions, regulations, policies, programs, the awarding of grants, contributions or other financial benefits such as loans, tax credits and the awarding of contracts;
• register for each undertaking;
• register any changes to information previously submitted, or termination of lobbying within 30 days; and 
• renew their registration semi-annually, or six months after reporting any changes to information.

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:

• filing returns semi-annually;
• reporting any changes to information previously submitted, or the termination of lobbying activities, within 30 days; and 
• the registration must include the names of all employees who communicate with public office holders as a significant part of their duties, in respect of legislative proposals, bills, resolutions, regulations, policies, programs, the awarding of grants, contributions or other financial benefits such as loans and tax credits. The names of all senior officers who communicate at all with public office holders for the same purposes must also be included.

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:

• filing returns semi-annually;
• reporting any changes to information previously submitted, or the termination of lobbying activities, within 30 days; and 
• the registration must include the names of all employees who communicate with public office holders in respect of legislative proposals, bills, resolutions, regulations, policies, programs, the awarding of grants, contributions or other financial benefits.

Lobbyists of all three categories described above are required to comply with the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct.

Registration Fees

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.   

Public Registry

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:

• The Guide to Registration, which covers the basic requirements of the Lobbyists Registration Act, and contains a summary Quick Reference Guide to Registration;
• Advisory opinions and interpretation bulletins;
• An informal consolidated version of the amended Act;
• Annual reports; and
• The Lobbyists' Code of Conduct.
  

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.

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National Contact(s):
Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists
10th floor
255 Albert Street
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0H5
Telephone: (613) 957-2760
Fax: (613) 957-3078
E-mail: QuestionsLobbying@orl-bdl-gc.ca
Web site: http://www.orl-bdl.gc.ca/