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PRB 05-74E
Prepared by:
Nancy Holmes
Law and Government Division
Revised 11 October 2007
PDF (99.11 Kb, 11 pages)
The term “lobbying” refers generally to any effort to communicate with legislators or other public officials against or in favour of a specific cause. Lobbying at the federal level in Canada is governed by the Lobbyists Registration Act, which came into force in 1989 and established a registration system intended to foster the public’s right to know and to be informed regarding who is trying to influence government policy in this country. This paper will provide an overview of the lobbyists registration system in Canada. It will look at the legislative history of the Lobbyists Registration Act,review the current regime, and canvass the lobbying amendments in the Federal Accountability Act.
On 30 September 1989, following extensive consultations and considerable debate,(1) the Lobbyists Registration Act came into force in Canada. The legislation sought to make transparent the activities of lobbyists without impeding access to government. The Act was a response to the public perception at the time that individuals seeking to influence the government through political or personal contacts were abusing the system. Indeed, between 1965 and 1985, over 20 private members’ bills were introduced in the House of Commons on the subject of lobbyist regulation in response to political scandals or public outcry.(2)
With the enactment of the Lobbyists Registration Act, it was believed that a reliable and accurate source of information on the activities of lobbyists would dispel much of the mystery surrounding lobbying and thus remove the atmosphere of conjecture and innuendo that can accompany such activities. The Act requires paid lobbyists(3) to register and disclose certain information through a public registry. The Act does not attempt to regulate lobbyists or the manner in which lobbying is conducted.
The Lobbyists Registration Act has evolved significantly since 1989,(4) in large part because of a statutory review provision in the legislation that requires periodic parliamentary reviews of the provisions and operation of the Act.(5) The most recent review was conducted in 2001 by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology.
In its report, Transparency in the Information Age: The Lobbyists Registration Act in the
21st Century, the Committee made several recommendations aimed at improving the operation of the Act. Bill C-15, An Act to amend the Lobbyists Registration Act, responded to some of the major recommendations of the Industry Committee’s report. Specifically, it sought to improve investigation and enforcement of the Act; simplify and harmonize the registration requirements for lobbyists; clarify and improve the language of the Act; and give effect to several technical amendments.(6)
Although Bill C-15 received Royal Assent on 11 June 2003, it did not come into force until 20 June 2005, along with Regulations Amending the Lobbyists Registration Regulations.(7) The delay was necessary in order to update the Lobbyists Registration Regulations as well as the electronic filing system for online registrations.(8) Indeed, on 20 June 2005, a new, more user-friendly lobbyist registration system was launched to ensure that Canadians have full and easy access to the information compiled and developed by the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists. It is worth noting as well that the delay in coming into force of Bill C-15 has served to delay the next five-year statutory review of the Lobbyists Registration Act until 2010.
In March 2004, Bill C-4, An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (Ethics Commissioner and Senate Ethics Officer), received Royal Assent and changed the reporting structure under the Lobbyists Registration Act. Bill C-4 eliminated the position of Ethics Counsellor in the lobbyists registration system,(9) and the Registrar of Lobbyists then reported to Parliament through the Registrar General,(10) rather than through the Ethics Counsellor. By Order in Council dated 6 February 2006, the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists became a federal government department, with the Registrar serving as its deputy head, for the purposes of the Financial Administration Act. The Office was also transferred from the Industry to the Treasury Board portfolio, thereby giving the control and supervision of the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists to the President of the Treasury Board. The government has indicated that this transition will increase the independence of the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists until forthcoming revisions are made to strengthen the Lobbyists Registration Act.(11)
The Registrar of Lobbyists is responsible for administering the information disclosure provisions of the Lobbyists Registration Act and maintaining the public registry. The Registrar issues advisory opinions and interpretation bulletins regarding the legislation. He or she is also responsible for the development of, and ensuring compliance with, the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct.
The Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the registry system. It examines all submitted forms for completeness and clarity. It also oversees investigations of complaints made under the Code of Conduct and the Act, and it provides the Registrar with the necessary information to render decisions in these areas. The Office also serves lobbyists in registering and reporting on their activities, as well as assisting the public in learning about lobbying activities.
As mentioned above, the Lobbyists Registration Act applies only to paid lobbyists who communicate with federal public office holders on behalf of a third party.(12) Public office holders, as defined under the Act, are virtually all persons occupying an elected or appointed position in the federal government, including members of the House of Commons and the Senate and their staff.(13) Lobbyists subject to the Act are required to register and disclose certain information,(14) which is made available to the public through an Internet-based registry system. Registrations must be updated or renewed every six months. Section 11(1) of the Lobbyists Registration Act requires the tabling of an annual report before Parliament on the administration of the Act.
Three types of lobbyists are identified by the Act:
The Act sets out penalties for non-compliance (e.g., failure to register) and for submitting false or misleading information. There is a two-year statutory limitation period for contraventions of the Act relating to registration requirements. The Registrar has no powers to investigate under the Act; however, where an administrative review by the Lobbyists Registration Branch indicates a possible contravention of the Act, the matter is turned over to the RCMP.(15) As well, the Registrar is required to notify police forces where there are reasonable grounds to believe that a criminal offence has been committed under the Act. To date, no charges have been laid for contraventions of the Act, and this has led some observers to conclude that the legislation, as it is currently drafted, cannot be adequately enforced.
Canada was the first country to reinforce its lobbyist disclosure rules with a code of conduct. Section 10.6 of the Lobbyists Registration Act provides for a mandatory code of conduct for lobbyists and the submission of an annual report to Parliament on this code. After extensive consultations (including all registered lobbyists, parliamentarians, journalists and academics), review by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, and publication in the Canada Gazette,the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct came into effect on 1 March 1997.
The Codeestablishes standards of conduct for all lobbyists who communicate with federal public office holders and forms a counterpart to the obligations that federal officials are required to observe in their interactions with the public and with lobbyists. The Codebegins with a preamble setting out its purpose and context. This is followed by a series of principles which, in turn, are followed by specific rules. The principles establish the operational parameters of the Code and seta framework in terms of the goals and objectives to be attained, but they do not establish precise standards. The rules provide detailed requirements for behaviour in certain situations. The specific obligations or requirements under the Code can be broken down into three categories: transparency, confidentiality and conflict of interest. The onus to comply with the Coderests with the lobbyist.
The Registrar of Lobbyists is responsible for investigating possible breaches of the Code; such investigations are required by the Act to be conducted in private. Where a formal investigation has been conducted, however, the Registrar shall table a report to Parliament citing the investigation’s findings, conclusions and reasons for those conclusions. The Lobbyists Registration Act does not prescribe penalties for breaches of the Code; neither does it specify how Parliament is to respond to a reported breach of the Code. There is also no limitation period for breaches of the Code.
The Federal Accountability Act makes substantive amendments to the Lobbyists Registration Act. However, with the exception of certain transitional provisions,(17) the lobbying portion of the Act has yet to come into force. It would appear that the delay in coming into force is the result of discussions between the Treasury Board Secretariat and the lobbying industry over draft regulations that will outline the specific reporting requirements under the law. (18) Once this is settled, time will also be required to make substantial changes to the Registry of Lobbyists in order to implement the new reporting and other requirements.
The lobbying amendments in the Federal Accountability Act seek to respond to issues concerning disclosure, compliance, enforcement and the independence of the Registrar of Lobbyists(19) that have been raised since the inception of the Lobbyists Registration Act, particularly in the course of parliamentary reviews of the Act. The changes also seek to implement most of the recommendations of Justice John Gomery in his 1 February 2006 report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities.(20) With respect to ensuring compliance with the legislation, the Gomery Commission specifically recommended an independent Registrar of Lobbyists who would report directly to Parliament rather than through a Cabinet minister and who would be provided with sufficient resources to publicize and enforce the requirements of the Lobbyists Registration Act, including investigation and prosecution by its own personnel. The Commission also recommended that the limitation period for investigation and prosecution under the Act be increased from two to five years from the time the Registrar becomes aware of an infringement.
The Federal Accountability Act will rename the Lobbyists Registration Act the Lobbying Act, presumably because it will seek to regulate the activities of lobbyists, rather than simply monitor them by means of a registry system. The new Act will replace the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists with an independent Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying who will be an officer of Parliament with increased investigatory and reporting powers, enforcement measures and a public education mandate. However, the new Commissioner of Lobbying, like the current Registrar of Lobbyists, will still not have the authority to impose administrative or monetary penalties as alternatives to criminal charges under the Act. The Commissioner must cease an investigation and advise the appropriate authorities where he or she believes on reasonable grounds that a person has committed an offence under this Act or any other Act of Parliament or of a provincial legislature. It therefore remains to be seen how effective the proposed new investigatory powers will be, given that the ultimate enforcement of the law will still rely on the use of criminal sanctions by a body outside of the lobbyists system.
The Lobbying Act will also prohibit any contingency fee arrangements by lobbyists, impose a five-year lobbying ban on designated public office holders, (21) and impose greater disclosure requirements on lobbyists, particularly in relation to dealings with designated public office holders. The law will also contain new offence provisions, greater monetary fines for convictions and longer limitation periods for instituting summary conviction proceedings under the Act. The Commissioner of Lobbying will have the power to prohibit anyone who has been convicted of an offence under the Act from lobbying for a period of up to two years, and he or she will be able to make publicly available any information related to a person convicted of an offence under the Act.
In its 2001 report on the Lobbyists Registration Act, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology concluded its study by viewing the lobbyists registration system as a “work in progress.” The Committee noted that, just as our thinking must continue to evolve on the subjects of transparency and access to government, so too must our legislative framework remain flexible and responsive to change. Certainly, with recommendations from the Gomery Commission along with the anticipated legislative changes under the Federal Accountability Act, one can expect that the lobbyists registration system will continue to be a topic of interest during the 39th Parliament.