ON Lobbying Corner

Lobbyists and senior officers are expected to complete their registrations accurately, but mistakes can happen.

Our series Common Registration Mistakes was featured in issues 41 to 43 and highlighted common issues the Lobbyist Registry team encounters when reviewing new and updated registrations.

❌ The Lobbying Activity section of a registration is unclear or incomplete.

The Act requires lobbyists and senior officers to provide a complete description of their lobbying activities.

It is important to clearly and concisely explain your lobbying goal, what policy, bill or regulation you are attempting to influence or change on behalf of your client or your employer, and who your lobbying targets will be.

The Office has a resource page that describes what information to include when completing the Lobbying Activity section of a registration.

❌ Government funding is confirmed but funding information is not provided.

Lobbyists and senior officers often select “yes” when confirming if their client or employer has received government funding, but they do not provide the specific information about the type of funding received.

You must list the source and amount of any funding your company or organization has received from any level of government during that government’s previous year. This includes grants, transfer payments and any other funding arrangement.

The Interpretation Bulletin “How do I report government funding?” describes the government funding requirements under the Act.

❌ Saving a new registration, notice of change or renewal as a draft but not submitting it.

When working on a registration, it is important to “Save as Draft” to ensure that your information is saved. However, when you have completed the form, you must make sure you select “Submit”. The “Save as Draft” feature does not submit the registration.

You can verify that you have submitted your registration by selecting “View my registrations” and checking that the status indicates “Pending”.

Learn more by watching tutorial videos on Changing or Updating a Registration and Renewing a Registration.

❌ Client information is blank, incomplete or not up to date.

What’s required? Consultant lobbyists should provide accurate client information including the client’s business name, address, contact name, contact information and a description of their business or activity.

Client name change? If you are updating the client’s business name on an existing registration, make sure you indicate the new name and, in parentheses, include the former name. If it is a different client, a new registration is required.

Something missing? If the client information section on a registration is incomplete, the registration will be published, and you will hear from Office staff. They will ask you to provide the additional details.

❌ Filing a notice of change and a registration renewal at the same time.

When lobbyists and senior officers file a notice of change and a registration renewal in the same time frame, they can inadvertently duplicate information.

A renewal can be made only in a certain time period, which is called the renewal window. To avoid the duplication issue, select “Renew a Registration” from the “I would like to…” menu page to see if you are in your renewal window.

If you are within this window, make the required changes as part of your renewal. If you are not in this window, you must file a notice of change by selecting “Change an existing registration (not a renewal)” from the “I would like to…” menu page.

Remember, changes or new information must be provided within 30 calendar days.

For more information, check out the Office’s videos on how to Renew a Registration or File a Notice of Change.

❌ Not updating the current and former in-house lobbyist lists.

Senior Officers are required to keep track of in-house lobbyists contributing to the lobbying activity of the business or organization. If someone is no longer lobbying, you must update your registration. Remove the lobbyist’s name from the current in-house lobbyist list and add their name to the former in-house lobbyist list within 30 calendar days of the date that the person ceased lobbying.

❌ Not responding to emails

Office staff may send you an email asking for additional information about your registration or profile. Generally, these requests are on behalf of the Registrar for information that is a requirement of the Act.

Lobbyists and senior officers are reminded to respond to emails in a timely manner or in accordance with the deadline provided.

Failure to respond may result in non-compliance with the Act so it’s a good idea to make sure emails from the Office don’t get filtered to your junk/spam folder. If you have questions about the email you receive, please ask for clarification.

❌ Using acronyms

When completing or updating a registration, lobbyists should use the full name of an organization, business, ministry, government program or policy in the first reference.

Acronyms can be used after that. Remember, the acronym you know well may not be common knowledge to others. Transparency is the purpose of the Lobbyists Registry.