The preamble to the Lobbying Act states that free and open access to government is an important matter of public interest, that lobbying public office holders is a legitimate activity, that it is desirable for public office holders and the public to be able to know who is engaged in lobbying activities, and that a system for the registration of paid lobbyists should not impede free and open access to government.
In 2008, substantive amendments to the Lobbyists Registration Act came into force; it was renamed the Lobbying Act because it now focused on regulating the activities of lobbyists rather than simply monitoring them through a registration system.
The current Lobbyists' Code of Conduct, which came into force on 1 December 2015, sets out the ethical standards that lobbyists are required to meet in order to conserve public confidence in “the integrity, objectivity and impartiality of government decision-making.” As such, it complements the disclosure and registration requirements of the Lobbying Act.
The following legislative amendments resulted from the adoption of the Lobbying Act:
In 2011 and 2012, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics conducted the five-year statutory parliamentary review of the Lobbying Act. The committee tabled a report in the House of Commons, which contained 11 recommendations on amending the Act, but none of these recommendations have resulted in legislative amendment to date. While the parliamentary review of the Lobbying Act is supposed to take place every five years as provided for in the Act, the second review should have taken place in 2017 but had not yet occurred at the time this paper was revised.
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 was first governed by the Lobbyists Registration Act. It 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 was trying to influence government policy in Canada. In 2008, following substantive amendments brought about by the Federal Accountability Act in 2006, the Act was renamed the Lobbying Act because it no longer simply monitors the activities of lobbyists by means of a registration system, but it now regulates them. Currently, more than 6,800 lobbyists are registered to lobby federal public office holders.1
In addition to the Lobbying Act, the first version of the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct (the Code), which came into force in March 1997, set out ethical standards for lobbyists to follow in order to conserve public confidence in the “integrity, objectivity and impartiality of government decision-making.” 2 As such, the Code complements the disclosure and registration requirements of the Lobbying Act and lobbyists are required to comply with its provisions. The current version of the Code came into force on 1 December 2015.
This paper provides a review of the legislative history of the Lobbying Act 3 and outlines how the Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct operate in practice.4 It also considers the issues raised in the course of the five-year review of the Act, which took place in 2011 and 2012.
On 30 September 1989, following extensive consultations and considerable debate, the Lobbyists Registration Act came into force in Canada.5 The legislation sought to make the activities of lobbyists transparent without impeding access to government. The Act was a response to public perceptions at the time that individuals seeking to influence the government through political or personal contacts were abusing the system. Indeed, between 1965 and 1985, more than 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.6
It was believed that the enactment of the Lobbyists Registration Act would lead to a reliable and accurate source of information on the activities of lobbyists, which would dispel much of the mystery surrounding lobbying and thus remove the atmosphere of conjecture and innuendo that can accompany such activities. The Act required paid lobbyists to register and disclose certain information through a public registry.7 Under the Act, the Registrar of Lobbyists was responsible for administering the information disclosure provisions of the Act and maintaining the public registry. The Act did not attempt to regulate lobbyists or the manner in which lobbying was conducted.
The Lobbyists Registration Act evolved significantly over time,8 in large part because of statutory review provisions in the legislation that required periodic parliamentary reviews of its provisions and operation.9 The last full review of the Lobbyists Registration Act was conducted in 2001 by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (Industry Committee). In its report, the committee made several recommendations aimed at improving the operation of the Act.10
Bill C-15, An Act to amend the Lobbyists Registration Act, responded to some of the major recommendations of the Industry Committee's report. This bill specifically sought to improve enforcement of the Act and expand investigative powers under the Act, simplify and harmonize the registration requirements for lobbyists and clarify and improve the language of the Act. For example, Bill C-15 clarified the definition of lobbying in three ways:
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. The delay was necessary in order to update the Lobbyists Registration Regulations as well as the electronic filing system for online registrations.
Bill C-15 also added a new section, section 14.1, to the Act, which specified that a parliamentary review of the provisions and operation of the Act must be undertaken every five years.
In December 2006, the Federal Accountability Act made substantive amendments to the Lobbyists Registration Act, including renaming the law the Lobbying Act.12
The amendments were, in part, designed to implement the recommendations of Justice John Gomery in his 1 February 2006 report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities,13 a commission into concerns raised in the 2003 report of the Auditor General of Canada.14 In its February 2006 report, the Gomery Commission recommended that the Registrar of Lobbyists should report directly to Parliament on matters concerning the application and enforcement of the Lobbyists Registration Act, and the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists should be provided with sufficient resources to enable it to publicize and enforce the requirements of the Act, allowing its staff to investigate and prosecute violations of the Act. The report also recommended that the limitation period for investigation and prosecution should be increased from two years to five from the time the registrar becomes aware of an infringement.
The following changes were brought about by the amendments to the Lobbyists Registration Act that came into force on 2 July 2008, at the same time as its official name change to the Lobbying Act:
In March 2011, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI Committee) began the five-year statutory parliamentary review of the Lobbying Act. After conducting a review of the Act from December 2011 to May 2012, the committee reported to the House of Commons in May 2012.16 The report contained 11 recommendations to amend the Act, none of which have resulted in legislative amendment to date. The government's response to the report was tabled in the House in September 2012.17
The Lobbying Act replaced the position of Registrar of Lobbyists with that of Commissioner of Lobbying, an independent officer of Parliament responsible for promoting an understanding of, acceptance of and compliance with the Act. The commissioner's mandate includes education, particularly with respect to lobbyists, their clients and public office holders, and some enforcement through limited measures (see section 3.1.5 of this paper, “Offence Provisions and Sanctions”). The Act also provides the commissioner with broad investigatory powers in relation to both the legislation and the Code.18 All investigations are to be conducted in private, and the commissioner must report to Parliament on his or her findings and conclusions. The commissioner is also required to table an annual report before Parliament on the administration of the Act. In addition, a special report may be prepared on any matter of importance that falls within the commissioner's mandate.
Despite enhanced investigatory powers, the commissioner, like the former Registrar of Lobbying, does not have the authority to impose administrative or monetary penalties as alternatives to criminal charges under the Act.19 The commissioner must cease an investigation and advise the appropriate authorities where he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has committed an offence under this Act or any other Act of Parliament or of a provincial legislature.
The Lobbying Act's preamble provides that free and open access to government is an important matter of public interest, that lobbying public office holders is a legitimate activity, that it is desirable that public office holders and the public be able to know who is engaged in lobbying activities, and that a system for the registration of paid lobbyists should not impede free and open access to government.
The Lobbying Act defines and enumerates activities that, when carried out for compensation, are considered to be lobbying. These activities are detailed in the Lobbying Act. Generally speaking, they include communicating with public office holders about changing federal laws, regulations, policies or programs; obtaining a financial benefit such as a grant or contribution; and, in certain cases, obtaining a government contract. As well, in the case of consultant lobbyists (individuals who lobby on behalf of clients), arranging a meeting between a public office holder and another person qualifies as lobbying.20
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.21 The Lobbying Act also contains the definition “designated public office holder.” The term refers to key decision makers within government and includes ministers of the Crown, their exempt staff, senior public servants (e.g., deputy or assistant deputy ministers) and other positions designated by regulation (e.g., certain senior members of the Canadian Forces). The Act also treats as a DPOH any member of a prime minister's transition team. DPOHs are subject to post-employment limitations on lobbying, and lobbyists have particular disclosure requirements when meeting with DPOHs.
On 20 September 2010, regulations entered into force amending the Designated Public Office Holder Regulations.22 The amendments added members of Parliament, senators and certain staff of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition to the list of designated public office holders.
The Lobbying Act applies to paid lobbyists who communicate with federal public office holders on behalf of a third party. Two types of lobbyists are identified by the Act:
Section 10 of the Lobbying Act authorizes the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada to issue advisory opinions and interpretation bulletins with respect to the enforcement, interpretation or application of the Act. In 2009, then-commissioner Karen E. Shepherd relied on this provision to issue an interpretation bulletin on the concept of “a significant part of the duties” of an employee in order to assist in-house lobbyists in complying with section 7 of the Lobbying Act, which sets out the circumstances in which in-house lobbyists are required to provide information.25
In this interpretation bulletin, the Commissioner established the threshold after which lobbying represents a significant part of an employee's duties at 20% of overall duties. She also suggested approaches for calculating the 20% threshold and provided examples of activities that are not subject to the registration requirement and, therefore, should not be factored into the calculation of significant portion of duties.
DPOHs, including members of Parliament and senators, are prohibited by law from lobbying for five years after leaving office.26 The five-year lobbying ban also applies to persons identified by the prime minister as having provided support and advice to him or her during the transition period from election to swearing-in as prime minister. The five-year period starts from the time the member ceases to carry out his or her functions with the team. Anyone who contravenes this provision commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000. The commissioner also has the power to make public any offence committed under this section as well as the name of the offender. The prohibition does not apply to individuals who were DPOHs through employment exchange programs.
A former DPOH may apply to the commissioner for an exemption from the five-year post-employment ban. In determining whether to grant an exemption, the commissioner considers whether doing so would be in keeping with the purpose of the Act and the criteria set out in the Act (i.e., if the applicant was a DPOH for only a short time, or was employed on an acting or administrative basis only, or was employed as a student). The commissioner is required to make public every exemption granted, along with his or her reasons for doing so. The list of individual exemptions from the five-year prohibition on lobbying granted since the Lobbying Act came into force in 2008 is available on the website of the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada.27
The exemption criteria for members of a prime minister's transition team differ from the exemption criteria for other DPOHs. For example, the following factors can be considered for transition team members: the circumstances under which the member left the team, the authority and influence the member possessed while on the team and the degree to which the member's new employer might gain unfair commercial advantage upon hiring the member. Indeed, transition team members are very closely involved in senior government offices – often in the staffing of high‑level positions – and they could thus potentially exercise considerable influence over these offices if they were permitted to lobby them within five years of leaving the team.
The Lobbying Act, as with the Lobbyists Registration Act before it, requires lobbyists to register, in an initial return, all types of communication with public office holders. Information is submitted in the form and manner prescribed by regulation (the Lobbyists Registration Regulations); the forms and regulations function as an integral part of the implementation of the Lobbying Act. The regulations also set out certain additional information to be disclosed in returns beyond the information required by the Act. This information includes, but is not limited to, the name of the client or employer, the subject of the lobbying, the federal institution being lobbied, the lobbying methods used, whether the lobbyist was formerly a public office holder, the public office(s) held, as well as confirmation on whether the lobbyist was a DPOH, and the last date on which they held that position.
In addition to the initial registration requirement, the Lobbying Act contains provisions that require lobbyists to file monthly returns if they carry out any oral and arranged communications with DPOHs. Oral and arranged communications include telephone calls, meetings and any other communications that are arranged in advance.
The return must disclose, for each communication that takes place in a given month, the date of the communication with a DPOH, the name and title of all DPOHs who were the object of the communication, and the subject of the communication. The lobbyist must submit the return to the Commissioner of Lobbying no later than the 15th day after the end of the month covered by the report.28
Section 9 of the Lobbying Act provides the Commissioner of Lobbying with the mandate to establish and maintain a Registry of Lobbyists. The Registry of Lobbyists is considered by the Commissioner of Lobbying to be the primary tool to increase transparency of federal lobbying activities.29 The registry is a free, publicly accessible web-based database.
Lobbyists must certify the accuracy of information in their monthly returns. These returns are then validated for completeness by the staff in the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying before being posted in the registry. There is no registration fee for lobbyists.
The Lobbyists Registration Act contained penalties for non-compliance with the legislation (e.g., failure to register) and for submitting false or misleading information. The Lobbying Act added offence provisions for failure to file a requisite return or for a DPOH to make a false or misleading statement in response to a request for information from the commissioner. Anyone convicted of these offences by way of summary conviction is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 (up from $25,000 under the Lobbyists Registration Act) or imprisonment for up to six months, or both. Where proceedings are by way of indictment, the maximum fine is $200,000 (up from $100,000 under the Lobbyists Registration Act) or imprisonment for up to two years, or both. The Act also provides that anyone convicted of contravening any other provision of the Act, except in relation to the Code, will be liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 (up from $25,000 under the Lobbyists Registration Act). The limitation period for instituting proceedings by way of summary conviction under the Act is not later than five years after the commissioner became aware of the facts and not later than 10 years after the offence was committed.30
The commissioner may prohibit anyone who has been convicted of an offence under the Act from lobbying for up to two years. The commissioner must be satisfied that the prohibition is necessary and in the public interest, and he or she must also take into consideration the gravity of the offence and the existence of any previous convictions. In addition, the commissioner has the power to make publicly available any information related to a person convicted of an offence under the Act, including the person's name, the nature of the offence, the punishment imposed and any lobbying prohibition the commissioner may have imposed.
In 1995, the Lobbyists Registration Act was amended and a provision made for a mandatory code of conduct for lobbyists and the submission of an annual report to Parliament on this code. After extensive consultations with all registered lobbyists and with 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 1997.31
The Code establishes 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 Code begins with a preamble setting out its purpose and context. This is followed by a series of principles that, in turn, are followed by specific rules. The principles establish the operational parameters of the Code and set the framework through which the Code's goals and objectives are 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 Commissioner of Lobbying is responsible for investigating possible breaches of the Code and such investigations must be conducted in private. In February 2007, the introductory message to the Code was amended to provide that an investigation may be triggered by an alleged breach of either a principle or a rule of the Code. Previously, the Ethics Counsellor held that only the breach of a rule could trigger an investigation.32 Where a formal investigation has been conducted, the commissioner must table a report in Parliament citing the investigation's findings, conclusions and reasons for those conclusions. The Lobbying Act does not prescribe penalties for breaches of the Code (nor did the Lobbyists Registration Act before it); neither does the Lobbying Act specify how Parliament is to respond to a reported breach of the Code. Furthermore, there is also no limitation period for pursuing breaches of the Code.
On 16 October 2014, Karen E. Shepherd, who was then Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada, published a revised Lobbyists' Code of Conduct, together with a background paper outlining the rationale behind the changes to the Code.33 The Commissioner invited all interested parties to share their views on the revised Code during consultations that took place from 16 October 2014 to 19 December 2014. On 21 May 2015, the Commissioner submitted the revised Lobbyists' Code of Conduct to ETHI Committee members to solicit their views on the new version. On 7 November 2015, the Commissioner published her proposed changes in the Canada Gazette. The current version of the Code came into force on 1 December 2015.
To facilitate application of the rules of the Code, the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada issued guidance on how to mitigate conflicts of interest regarding preferential access (rules 7 and 8 of the Code), political activities (rule 9 of the Code) and gifts (rule 10 of the Code).34
Citing the Oliphant Inquiry,35 the Office's website states that the Commissioner of Lobbying considers the following principles to assess whether a lobbyist has placed a public office holder in a real or apparent conflict of interest:
Would an informed person, viewing the matter realistically and practically and having thought the matter through, think that an action taken by a lobbyist has created a sense of obligation on the part of the public office holder, or a tension between the public office holder's private interests and the duty of the public office holder to serve the public interest?36
Of note with respect to the interaction between lobbying and conflict of interest: on 22 March 2018, the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada (OCL) and the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner (OCIEC) entered into a “Memorandum of Understanding,” the purpose of which is to
establish a framework to foster co-operation between the OCIEC and the OCL on matters of education and outreach in order to provide guidance to public office holders and lobbyists in respect of their obligations under their respective regimes and to ensure consistency, comprehensiveness and clarity in such matters.37
Bill C-15 (2003) added to the Lobbyists Registration Act – now the Lobbying Act – section 14.1, which mandates that a parliamentary review of the Act must be undertaken every five years:
14.1(1) A comprehensive review of the provisions and operation of this Act must be undertaken, every five years after this section comes into force, by the committee of the Senate, of the House of Commons, or of both Houses of Parliament, that may be designated or established for that purpose.
(2) The committee referred to in subsection (1) must, within a year after the review is undertaken or within any further period that the Senate, the House of Commons, or both Houses of Parliament, as the case may be, may authorize, submit a report on the review to Parliament that includes a statement of any changes to this Act or its operation that the committee recommends.
Section 14.1 came into force on 20 June 2005.38
On 15 December 2010, the House of Commons unanimously adopted a motion to designate the ETHI Committee as the committee charged with conducting the parliamentary review of the Lobbying Act in the House of Commons.39
Prior to dissolution of the 40th Parliament, the ETHI Committee had the opportunity to hear testimony from then-commissioner of Lobbying of Canada Karen E. Shepherd on two occasions: on 14 December 2010, in anticipation of the statutory review; and on 23 March 2011, the formal beginning of the review, when the Commissioner made several recommendations to amend the Act in order to improve its functioning.
During her appearance before the committee on 14 December 2010, Commissioner Shepherd raised issues that the committee might wish to consider in the context of the legislative review. She noted certain areas of the Act that could be further explored, namely, the enforcement mechanisms in the Act, the scope of application of the Act, and the disclosure requirements under the Act.40
Later, during her opening remarks to the committee on 23 March 2011, Commissioner Shepherd noted that while the federal lobbying system was working rather well, amendments could nonetheless improve its functioning.41
In a document titled Administering the Lobbying Act: Observations and Recommendations Based on the Experience of the Last Five Years, Commissioner Shepherd summarized her nine recommendations for reform of the Act:
- Recommendation 1: The provisions regarding the “significant part of duties” should be removed from the Lobbying Act and consideration should be given to allowing limited exemptions.
- Recommendation 2: The Act should be amended to require that every in-house lobbyist who actually participated in the communication be listed in monthly communication reports, in addition to the name of the most senior officer.
- Recommendation 3: The prescribed form of communications for the purposes of monthly communication reports should be changed from “oral and arranged” to simply “oral.”
- Recommendation 4: The Act should be amended to require lobbyists to disclose all oral communications about prescribed subject-matters with DPOHs, regardless of who initiates them.
- Recommendation 5: The Act should be amended to make explicit the requirement for consultant lobbyists to disclose the ultimate client of the undertaking, as opposed to the firm that is hiring them.
- Recommendation 6: The provision of an explicit outreach and education mandate should be maintained in the Lobbying Act to support the Commissioner's efforts to raise awareness of the legislation's rationale and requirements.
- Recommendation 7: The Act should be amended to provide for the establishment of a system of administrative monetary penalties for breaches of the Act and the Code, to be administered by the Commissioner of Lobbying.
- Recommendation 8: The requirement for the Commissioner to conduct investigations in private should remain in the Lobbying Act.
- Recommendation 9: An immunity provision, similar to that found in sections 18.1 and 18.2 of the Auditor General Act, should be added to the Lobbying Act.42
In May 2012, the ETHI Committee tabled a report in the House of Commons on its first five-year review of the Lobbying Act. The committee made 11 recommendations for legislative change. The Government's response to the Committee's report, tabled in the House in September 2012, grouped the Committee's recommendations into three categories: those that the Government supports, those whose intent with which the Government concurs and “will consider means of implementing them that maximizes their effectiveness while minimizing administrative burden,” and those of which the Government takes note and will continue to study carefully.43 Table 1, below, presents the ETHI Committee's recommendations as grouped by the Government in its response to the report. None of these recommendations has led to legislative change to date.
| Recommendations Supported by the Government | Recommendations Whose Intent with Which the Government Concurs | Recommendations of Which the Government Takes Note and Will Continue to Study Carefully |
|---|---|---|
| Recommendation 5: Ensure monthly communications reports contain the names of in‑house lobbyists who attended oral pre-arranged meetings [in addition to the senior reporting officer]. |
Recommendation 1: All public servants serving in a Director General's position, or serving in a more senior position than Director General, should now be considered Designated Public Office Holders and held subject to all applicable laws governing this designation. |
Recommendation 2: Remove the “significant part of duties” threshold for in‑house lobbyists. |
| Recommendation 9: The five-year ban should be retained, and post-employment restrictions on public office holders should be interpreted and administered by a single authority. |
Recommendation 3: Eliminate the distinction between in-house lobbyists (corporations) and in-house lobbyists (organizations). |
Recommendation 10: Enshrine the administrative review process in the Act. |
| Recommendation 4: Require in-house lobbyists to file a registration, along with the senior officer. |
Recommendation 11: Empower the Commissioner of Lobbying to impose administrative monetary penalties. Perhaps consider temporary bans for breaches of the law (as in the Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec provincial legislation). |
|
| Recommendation 6: Allow board members (corporations and association directors), partners and sole proprietors to be included in an in‑house lobbyist's returns. |
||
| Recommendation 7: Impose an explicit ban on the receipt of gifts from lobbyists. |
||
| Recommendation 8: Prohibit an individual or entity from lobbying the government on a subject matter, if they have a contract to provide advice to a public office holder on the same subject matter. |
Source: Table prepared by the authors based on information obtained from Government of Canada, Government's Response to the recommendations of the Third Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, Statutory Review of the Lobbying Act: Its First Five Years, 17 September 2012.
The second five-year review of the Lobbying Act, which was supposed to have been conducted in 2017 in accordance with the Act, did not take place that year. During her appearance before the ETHI Committee in May 2018, Nancy Bélanger, who was appointed Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada on 30 December 2017, said the following: “We are also preparing for the pending legislative review of the Lobbying Act. We will be ready to meet with you when this exercise begins.” 44 The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada's Annual Report 2018–19, tabled in Parliament on 18 June 2019, echoes the same idea: “The statutory review of the Lobbying Act is anticipated. The Commissioner's recommendations to strengthen the Act continue to be developed and she will be ready to share them when called for by Parliament.” 45
Commissioner Bélanger appeared before the ETHI Committee on 9 March 2020 to provide an overview of her work. At that time she said that
the Lobbying Act has been up for statutory review since 2017. I have developed a targeted number of recommendations to enhance the federal framework for lobbying. These recommendations are values‑based, aimed at enhancing transparency, fairness, clarity and efficiency. Should the Lobbying Act be reviewed, I am ready to share a summary of my recommendations or a more comprehensive document detailing the rationale for each of them.46
Commissioner Bélanger noted that she had made 11 recommendations pertaining to registration and compliance. With respect to registration, she expressed her desire to eliminate the “significant part of the duties” threshold because of how difficult it is to apply. The Commissioner recommended that registration be by default with very clear criteria. She also recommended requiring registration after three months if an organization meets the prescribed threshold or if it requests more than $10,000 for its lobbying services.47
With regard to monthly communication reports, Commissioner Bélanger argued that
who organizes the meeting should not matter to Canadians, and whether it's arranged in advance should not matter. Those one-hour conversations while you wait for your plane together should matter. To me, that's an important one. Whoever is in the room while the lobbying is occurring should be named.48
In its 2001 report on the Lobbyists Registration Act, the Industry Committee concluded its study by describing 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. This observation remains relevant today. Further, the parliamentary reviews of the Lobbying Act, which should take place every five years, could help the Act stay current as our parliamentary democracy continues to evolve. However, it should be noted that the second five-year review of the Act had not yet taken place at the time this paper was revised.
† Library of Parliament Background Papers provide in-depth studies of policy issues. They feature historical background, current information and references, and many anticipate the emergence of the issues they examine. They are prepared by the Parliamentary Information and Research Service, which carries out research for and provides information and analysis to parliamentarians and Senate and House of Commons committees and parliamentary associations in an objective, impartial manner. [ Return to text ]
(2.55 MB, 19 pages), 2019, p. 8. [ Return to text ] (233 KB, 70 pages),” in Donald Savoie et al., Restoring Accountability – Research Studies: Volume 2 – The Public Service and Transparency, Research paper prepared for the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, as part of writing its Phase 2 report, Restoring Accountability: Recommendations. [ Return to text ] (357 KB, 47 pages), 13 December 2011, p. 9. [ Return to text ] (56 KB, 22 pages),” Chapter 9 in Restoring Accountability: Recommendations, Part Three – Transparency, Ottawa, Public Works and Government Services Canada, 1 February 2006, pp. 171–174. [ Return to text ] (348 KB, 6 pages), Ottawa, June 2008. [ Return to text ] (61 KB, 34 pages) provided that former ministers, senior public servants and designated ministerial staff could not act as consultant lobbyists or accept employment as in-house lobbyists for a period of five years after leaving office. Although public office holders were bound by this obligation under the Code, the Code did not have the force of law. [ Return to text ] (348 KB, 6 pages), Ottawa, June 2008. [ Return to text ] (357 KB, 47 pages), 13 December 2011, pp. 11–19. [ Return to text ]By unanimous consent, it was ordered, – That the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics be the committee designated for the purposes of section 14.1 of the Lobbying Act.[ Return to text ]
(357 KB, 47 pages), 13 December 2011, p. 7. [ Return to text ] (2.55 MB, 19 pages), p. 19. [ Return to text ]
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