Some observations on the state of lobbying in Canada.

• Author: Thurlow, W. Scott
• Position: Column

Lobbying is a legal activity and indeed an important part of the democratic right of individual Canadians to petition the government. In so doing, Canadians inform debate from many different perspectives and this should lead to better public policy. Concerns about the influence of lobbyists have led to considerable regulation of lobbying including changes stemming from the Federal Accountability Act. This article looks at some of the issues facing lobbyists and those who regulate lobbying.

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There are two types of lobbyists--consultant lobbyists and in-house lobbyists. Without exception, consultant lobbyists who, in exchange for payment, approach the government on behalf of a third party to seek specific government action must register under the Lobbying Act. For in-house lobbyists, the Lobbying Act requires the registration of all companies who are seeking certain specific government action, and it is the Chief Executive Officer of the company who is responsible for ensuring that the registration is complete.

There are examples of communicating with government by companies which does not require registration. Seeking information, seeking an interpretation of an existing rule, or appearing at a parliamentary committee are all explicitly divorced from the operation of the Act.

Other areas are less clear--like the 20% rule which applies to in-house lobbyists for companies and trade associations. The part which is least understood is the fact that it is not a rule as much as it is an interpretation bulletin. The Act requires reporting by any company whose employees "as a significant part of their duties" communicate with the government "with respect to" a laundry list of activities that require registration. In this case, "significant" has been interpreted to mean 20% of their duties by the Commissioner of Lobbying. For companies that have multiple employees who lobby, the interpretation is broadened to mean the equivalent of 20% of any one full time employee. So, if you have 10 employees, and all of them spend 2% of their time lobbying, that adds up to the equivalent of I full time employee doing 20% of their time lobbying, and your company is required to register.

My advice is always "register," because the last thing you want to do is defend yourself using time sheets. Since the purpose of the registry is to promote public accountability, you are simply telling the world what you want the government to do, or not do, as the case may be. I am always suspect of companies who start doing math to avoid their registration. The legislative solution is to remove the "significant time" proviso in the Act and require all companies that communicate with the government to seek policy change to register with the Commissioner.

Registrable Activity v. Reportable Activity.

The Lobbying Act requires monthly reporting for all pre-arranged oral communications with a designated public office holder (DPOH) initiated by the lobbyist. This...