Common menu bar links
Breadcrumb Trail
ARCHIVED - Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists
This page has been archived.
Archived Content
Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats on the "Contact Us" page.
Section I: Overview
Registrar's Message
This is the first Departmental Performance Report produced by the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists (ORL).
The 2006-2007 reporting period saw increased levels of activity in administration of the Lobbyists Registration Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct from those of 2005-2006, itself a very busy year. The total number of active registrations reached a new high with a total of 5 281 lobbyists registered at year-end. Registration increases were recorded for consultant lobbyists, in-house lobbyists (Corporations) and in-house lobbyists (Organizations). We believe that this is due at least in part to an increase in the number of lobbyists who are becoming aware of their obligation to register.
The number of cases under review or investigation by the Investigations Directorate nearly tripled as compared to 2005-2006. In March 2007, a milestone was achieved with the tabling in Parliament of the first-ever investigation reports on breaches of the Code.
Bill C-2, the Federal Accountability Act, received Royal Assent on December 12, 2006, as S.C. 2006 c. 9, setting the stage for amendments to the Lobbyists Registration Act. The Lobbyists Registration Act will be renamed the Lobbying Act and will include important changes. Among these are the following:
- an independent Commissioner of Lobbying with a strong mandate to investigate violations of the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct;
- a five-year ban on lobbying for ministers, ministerial staff, and senior public servants once they leave office, as well as for members of Prime Ministers' transition teams;
- a ban on the payment and receipt of success or contingency fees; and,
- requirements that communications with certain designated public office holders be recorded.
During the reporting period, the Office prepared for implementation of the lobbying provisions of the Federal Accountability Act, principally by developing enhancements to the Lobbyists Registration System. I am confident that this work, as well as other results achieved by the ORL during the reporting period, will contribute in an important way to the implementation of the Federal Accountability Act and more broadly, to enhancing confidence in the integrity of federal government decision-making.
Michael Nelson
Registrar of Lobbyists
Management Representation Statement
I submit for tabling in Parliament, the 2006-2007 Departmental Performance Report (DPR) for the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists.
This document has been prepared based on the reporting principles contained in Guide for the Preparation of Part III of the 2006-2007 Estimates: Reports on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Reports:
- it adheres to the specific reporting requirements outlined in the Treasury Board Secretariat guidance;
- it is based on the department's Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture that were approved by the Treasury Board;
- it presents consistent, comprehensive, balanced and reliable information;
- it provides a basis of accountability for the results achieved with the resources and authorities entrusted to it; and
- it reports finances based on approved numbers from the Estimates and Public Accounts of Canada.
Michael Nelson
Registrar of Lobbyists
Summary Information
Reason for Existence
The mandate of the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists is derived from the Lobbyists Registration Act (www.orl-bdl.gc.ca). Its purpose is to ensure transparency and accountability in the lobbying of public office holders with a view to contributing to confidence in the integrity of government decision-making.
| 2006-2007 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Planned Spending | Total Authorities | Actual Spending |
| 3 514 | 3 407 | 3 103 |
| 2006-2007 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Planned | Actual | Difference |
| 20 | 20 | 0 |
| Status on Performance | 2006-2007 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planned Spending | Actual Spending | |||
| Strategic Outcome: Transparency and accountability in the lobbying of public office holders contribute to confidence in the integrity of government decision-making. | ||||
| Priority #1 Update the Registry and enhance its transparency (new) |
Program Activity Registration of Lobbyists Expected Result Refer to Section II Priority #1 |
Successfully met | 1 519 | 1 460 |
| Priority #2 Increase awareness of Act and Code requirements (new) |
Program Activity Education and Research Expected Result Refer to Section II Priority #2 |
Successfully met | 930 | 744 |
| Priority #3 Pursue enforcement of the Act and the Code and communicate the results achieved (new) |
Program Activity Reviews and Investigations under the Lobbyists Registration Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct Expected Result Refer to Section II Priority #3 |
Successfully met | 1 065 | 899 |
Departmental Performance
Operating Environment and Context
The operating environment of the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists (ORL) changed dramatically during the two years prior to 2006-2007. Since this is the first DPR for the ORL, a brief review of these two years will provide useful background for the description of the 2006-2007 operating environment.
In May 2004, the position of Ethics Counsellor, which had been responsible for the Lobbyists Registration Act (Act) for some seven years, was abolished. A Lobbyists Registration Branch (LRB) was set up within Industry Canada. There were no full-time staff. An Assistant Deputy Minister was assigned part-time duties as Registrar of Lobbyists. A Director was hired and in July 2004, the LRB began operation with a very small staff. Over the next several months the LRB operated as part of the Comptrollership and Administration Sector of Industry Canada. In September 2005, in recognition of an increasing workload for the LRB, the position of Registrar was established on a full-time basis and a request for additional staff and resources was prepared.
The departmental context has also changed for the ORL. Immediately after his full-time appointment, the Registrar took a number of steps to transform the Lobbyists Registration Branch of Industry Canada into a more independent organization. The Registrar ceased all participation in Industry Canada's management team and in October 2005, moved the Branch, renamed the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists, to new premises physically separated from those of Industry Canada. In addition, the Registrar restructured the organization by creating two directorates focused on groups of core activities. An Investigations Directorate was established with a mandate to enforce the Act through conducting administrative reviews, investigations, and policy analysis related to the application of the Act. As well, a new Operations Directorate was established to perform all registration functions, including client service, advice, interpretation and informatics, as well as communications and certain other corporate functions.
On February 6, 2006, Prime Minister Harper announced that the ORL had been transferred from Industry Canada to the Treasury Board portfolio as a stand-alone office, to increase its independence while the government was working to further revise and strengthen the Act. As of that same date, the Registrar of Lobbyists was granted the authority of a Deputy Head.
The first full reporting period for the ORL as a department for the purposes of the Financial Administration Act was 2006-2007. A considerable amount of management time during the year was spent on establishing the personnel, administrative and financial arrangements required of an independent organization. Staff responsibilities for corporate functions such as finance, communications, information management and technology, facilities and security were assigned. In some cases, such as for financial services, the decision was made to obtain the majority of services from an outside provider. For some others, such as communications, an in-house capacity was created. Legal services for the ORL were provided by the Department of Justice.
The first ORL Human Resources Plan was developed early in 2006. This set the stage for the exercise of staffing authorities that were delegated to the Registrar by the President of the Public Service Commission. This was the first year that the ORL operated near its full staff complement. Additional registration and investigation staff were hired, and the key positions of Senior Financial and Planning Officer and Chief Information Officer were filled. By the end of the 2006-2007 reporting period, the staff complement of the ORL had grown to 20.
Late in 2006, Parliament provided the ORL with a substantial increase in resources. Nearly two-thirds of this new operating budget was devoted to enhancing the Lobbyists Registration System.
Outside the ORL during the reporting period, the tabling, parliamentary debate and eventual passage of the Federal Accountability Act had an impact on the work of the ORL. Time and resources were spent to design and develop changes that would be required to the Lobbyists Registration System (LRS) to implement the Lobbying Act. Planned improvements to the search capability of the LRS were reduced in scope to make way for this new priority work. Staff time was required as well to provide advice to officials of the Treasury Board Secretariat in the development of policy and regulations related to implementation of the lobbying provisions of the Federal Accountability Act.
In summary, during the reporting period, the extensive changes to the ORL's operating environment and circumstances of the previous two years continued.
Performance
Despite operating in an environment of uncertainty and change, substantial progress was made. The ORL's strategic approach to administration and enforcement of the Act is reflected in its three priorities during the reporting period:
- Update the Registry and enhance its transparency
- Increase awareness of the Act and Lobbyists' Code of Conduct (Code) requirements
- Pursue enforcement of the Act and Code and communicate the results achieved
Several improvements to the Lobbyists Registration System were implemented in 2006-2007. The most significant improvements were aimed at making the system more efficient, so that registrations could be processed faster and made available on the registry more rapidly. The need to carry out these improvements was driven in part by the continuing increase in the volume of registrations that occurred during the reporting period. Improvements were also made to the reporting capabilities of the system to enhance transparency.
We believe that the increase in registrations was due in part to increased awareness among lobbyists of their obligations under the Act. There is little doubt that the increased profile of federal lobbying legislation due to Parliamentary debate on the Federal Accountability Act contributed in part to this awareness. The ORL contributed as well, principally through speaking engagements and through enhancements to its website.
While awareness of obligations is sufficient to cause most lobbyists to register and carry out their work in an ethical way, it is also important that evidence of enforcement exist. The ORL made significant progress in this regard during 2006-2007. The ORL carries out its reviews and investigations in private. Upon completion of these, written responses are sent to the parties involved. In the case of complaints made public by the complainants, the ORL responses were in most cases made public by the complainants as well. Lobbyists and the public were made aware in a number of instances that ORL acts when a complaint is received. The ORL also instituted a practice of monitoring media reports of alleged lobbying activity and following up in writing to the alleged lobbyists, if they were not already registered, to inform them they may have obligations under the Act. Finally, the first-ever investigation reports related to breaches of the Code were tabled in Parliament.
Details of performance against each of the three priorities are included in Section II of this report.
Link to the Government of Canada Outcome areas
Parliamentarians intended the Act to contribute in an important way to confidence in the integrity of government decision-making. The Act provides for a regime of transparency and accountability for those who communicate with public office holders with respect to a wide range of government decisions on legislation, regulations, policies, programs, grants, contributions and other areas of importance. Through administration and enforcement of federal lobbying legislation during the reporting period, the ORL has contributed to all Government of Canada Outcome Areas.