A Guide to Registration

This manual provides an overview of the lobbyist registration process.

1.1 Document Structure and Conventions

The document breaks down into seven chapters:

Chapter 1-Introduction illustrates the document's structure, provides an overview of the Lobbying Act , outlines the OCL's mandate and includes what lobbyists can expect with respect to OCL service standards, official languages and confidentiality.
Chapter 2 provides a description of the types of lobbyists.
Chapter 3 deals with the account creation process from determining whether a registration is required, to the activation of an account.
The next three chapters describe the online registration process for Consultant Lobbyists (Ch. 4), In-House Organizations (Ch. 5) and In-House Corporations (Ch. 6).
Chapter 7 presents activities that occur after registration, such as submitting monthly returns, terminating a registration, changing a responsible officer, managing firm profiles and copying an existing registration in the Lobbyists Registration System.

The annexes provide a glossary.

Hyperlinks

To facilitate navigation, the document contains a large number of hyperlinks,

from the interactive Contents page and within text, to sections within the document itself (e.g., Chapter 3, the Glossary), and
to the OCL's website (e.g., Interpretation Bulletins) as well as external sites such as the Department of Justice, which stores the Lobbying Act .

Notes

Two types of Notes are used to draw the reader's attention to items of particular interest:

Note The Information Note is designed to draw attention to items of interest. This is a sample Information Note.

Action The Action Note is intended to highlight action items for the lobbyist's attention. This is a sample Action Note.

1.2 Lobbying Act -Purpose and Description

The Lobbying Act (the Act) provides for the public registration of those individuals who are paid, by an employer or a client, to communicate with public office holders (POHs) with regard to certain matters as described in the legislation. Public office holders are defined in the Act as virtually all persons occupying an elected or appointed position in the Government of Canada, including members of the House of Commons and the Senate and their staff, as well as officers and employees of federal departments and agencies, members of the Canadian Forces and members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The Act is based on four key principles:

Free and open access to government is an important matter of public interest.
Lobbying public office holders is a legitimate activity.
It is desirable that public office holders and the public be able to know who is engaged in lobbying activities.
A system for the registration of paid lobbyists should not impede free and open access to government.

Individuals must be registered if they lobby, i.e., if they communicate with federal POHs, for payment, with regard to:

the making, developing or amending of federal legislative proposals, bills or resolutions, regulations, policies or programs;
the awarding of federal grants, contributions or other financial benefits; and
in the case of consultant lobbyists, the awarding of a federal government contract and arranging a meeting between a POH and any other person.

1.3 Regulations

The Lobbying Act defined designated public office holders (DPOHs) to include ministers, ministers of state and ministerial staff, deputy heads, associate deputy heads and assistant deputy ministers and those of comparable ranks throughout the public service. The Designated Public Office Holder Regulations extended this definition to include fourteen additional positions or classes of positions.

Positions and classes of positions

Chief of the Defence Staff
Vice Chief of the Defence Staff
Chief of Maritime Staff
Chief of Land Staff
Chief of Air Staff
Chief of Military Personnel
Judge Advocate General
Any position of Senior Advisor to the Privy Council to which the office holder is appointed by the Governor in Council
Deputy Minister (Intergovernmental Affairs) Privy Council Office
Comptroller General of Canada
Any position to which the office holder is appointed pursuant to paragraph 127.1(1)(a) or (b) of the Public Service Employment Act
The position of member of the House of Commons
The position of member of the Senate
Any position on the staff of the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons or on the staff of the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, that is occupied by a person appointed pursuant to subsection 128(1) of the Public Service Employment Act

The Lobbyists Registration Regulations set the form and manner in which lobbyists must file returns required by the Lobbying Act . Returns disclose information regarding the lobbying activities of registrants. The Regulations also set out additional information to be disclosed in returns, beyond what is required by the Lobbying Act . They set the time frames to respond to a request by the Commissioner for correction or clarification of information submitted in returns. The Regulations also describe the type of communication that will trigger monthly communication reports. The form and manner of registration set out in the Lobbyists Registration Regulations are reflected in the Lobbyists Registration System interface that is provided to users of the system.

1.4 OCL Mandate

The Commissioner of Lobbying is an independent Agent of Parliament, appointed by Parliament under the Lobbying Act for a term of seven years. The purpose of the Act is to ensure transparency and accountability in the lobbying of public office holders in order to contribute to confidence in the integrity of government decision-making.

The mandate of the Commissioner is threefold:

Establish and maintain the Registry of Lobbyists, which contains and makes public the information disclosed by lobbyists;
Develop and implement educational programs to foster public awareness of the requirements of the Act; and
Conduct reviews and investigations to ensure compliance with the Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct (the Code).

1.5 Registry of Lobbyists and Lobbyists Registration System

The Registration and Client Services Directorate is responsible for developing and maintaining the Lobbyists Registration System (LRS) and the online Registry of Lobbyists. The LRS allows users to register their lobbying activities and perform transactions, such as filing registrations and monthly communication reports. The Registry allows Canadians to search for lobbyists and lobbying activity. Employees of the Registration and Client Services Directorate process lobbyists' registrations and offer client service to registrants, public office holders, and the general public.

Note

All information collected under the Lobbying Act is a matter of public record. The objective of the Registry is to ensure transparency of lobbying activities, so that the general public, the media and public office holders may know who is lobbying the government, for what purpose and in whose interest.

1.6 Service Standards

The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying has developed client service standards for its registration activities.

1.7 Official Languages

The Official Languages Act (OLA) recognizes that English and French have equality of status in all institutions of Parliament and the Government of Canada. The OCL adheres to all OLA requirements and related Treasury Board policies, and is committed to fulfilling the objectives of the Official Languages Program. All services offered to the public are offered in both official languages.

Further information about language rights and obligations can be found at the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages website: www.ocol-clo.gc.ca.

1.8 Access to Information and Privacy

The OCL adheres to all relevant legislation and guidelines governing the collection, protection, access and use of information including the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act , and related Treasury Board policies.

For information on release of information to the public, please consult the Office of the Privacy Commissioner's website.

2. Categories of Lobbyists

The Lobbying Act provides for two categories of lobbyists: Consultants and In-House Lobbyists.

2.1 Consultant Lobbyists

Consultant lobbyists include any individual who is paid to communicate with public office holders on behalf of a client. A consultant lobbyist may not be primarily engaged to lobby. It could be any individual who, in the course of his or her work on behalf of a client, communicates with or arranges a meeting with a public office holder. For example, lawyers, accountants and other professionals may lobby as a portion of the services they provide. Consultant lobbyists are required to submit separate registrations for each of their clients.

Note

Because they are not employees, remunerated external members of Boards of Directors who lobby on behalf of an organization or corporation for which they are Directors, cannot register as in-house lobbyists. The same rule applies to members of organizations who are paid to lobby on behalf of those same organizations. They must instead register as consultant lobbyists within 10 days of accepting, verbally or in writing, to lobby on behalf of the organization or corporation. See Advisory Opinion on Application of the Act to outside chairpersons and members.

2.2 In-House Lobbyists

In-house lobbyists communicate with public office holders on behalf of the corporation or the organization that employs them. Registration is required when one or more employees communicate with public office holders regarding certain subjects and those duties constitute a significant part of the duties of one employee or would constitute a significant part of the duties of one employee if they were performed by only one employee.

Note

You will have to determine which category of lobbyist you belong to in order to register in the correct category in the Lobbyists Registration System (LRS).

3. Create a Lobbyist Registration Account and Profile

This section provides an overview of the steps involved in creating an account for the purpose of filing lobbying registrations and monthly communication reports.

You are only permitted to ever have one LRS account, which you will retain for the duration of your professional life.

If you need help

The staff of the OCL is there to help you. Our advisors can be reached by phone (613-957-2760), by e-mail (info@lobbycanada.gc.ca) or by fax (613-957-3078). If you wish to meet with one of our experts, we are pleased to meet with you in person or via webinar. You may also at any time peruse our web site (lobbycanada.gc.ca) for additional information, including interpretation bulletins and other information.

In addition, the OCL offers a series of animated tutorials that provide step-by-step assistance as you progress through the registration process.

3.1 Do you need to register?

You must file a registration if you or your organization or corporation communicate with public office holders (POHs), for payment or a salary, with regard to:

the making, developing or amending of federal legislative proposals, bills or resolutions, regulations, policies or programs; or
the awarding of federal grants, contributions or other financial benefits; or
in the case of consultant lobbyists, the awarding of a federal government contract or arranging a meeting between a public office holder and any other person.

Who does not need to register?

The Act excludes the following public officials from registering as lobbyists when they are acting in their official capacity:

Members of the legislature of a province or territory or their staff;
Employees of provincial and territorial governments;
Members of local or municipal governments or their staff;
Employees of local or municipal governments;
Members of the council of a band as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Indian Act or of the council of an Indian band established by an Act of Parliament, or their staff;
Members of an aboriginal government or institution that exercises jurisdiction or authority under a self-government agreement, or under self-government provisions contained in a land-claims agreement given effect by or under an Act of Parliament, their staff or employees of that government or institution;
Diplomatic agents, consular officers, or official representatives in Canada of foreign governments; and
Officials of a specialized agency of the United Nations in Canada or officials of any other international organization granted privileges and immunities by Parliament.

Note

If any of the above public officials or their organizations hire and pay third-party consultants to lobby on their behalf, these consultant lobbyists will be subject to the usual registration requirements.

When does the Act not apply?

The Act does not apply to:

Any oral or written submission made to any committee of either House of Parliament, or to any organization created by an Act of Parliament, in proceedings that are a matter of public record;
Any oral or written communication with a POH by a person on behalf of a person or organization with respect to enforcement, interpretation or application of any Act of Parliament or regulation, concerning the person or organization;
Any oral or written communication with a POH by a person on behalf of a person or organization, provided the communication is restricted to a request for information.

If you determine that you must register in the federal Registry of Lobbyists, please proceed to the next step.

Note

There are two steps involved in creating an account. The first step is providing and submitting your account profile information; the second step involves activating your account, which involves responding to an activation email.

3.2 Create an Account and Profile

You can create an account by navigating to the Lobbyists Registration System Sign in page. The information captured in the process will contribute to your profile as a user and that of your firm, organization or corporation.

Action From the Lobbyists Registration System Sign in page, click the Create an Account button.

In the Account Creation - Account Purpose page, select the type which best describes your purpose for creating an account within the Lobbyists Registration System.

Consultant lobbyists: You are a consultant lobbyist if you are arranging meetings between your client and public office holders and/or if you are communicating with a public office holder, on behalf of your client.

Chairperson or member of a board: You are a chairperson or member of a board of Directors who is not an employee of the corporation or organization in an employee-employer relationship and communicates with public office holders.

Most senior paid officer for an organization or corporation: You are the most senior paid officer for an organization or corporation that has employees who lobby.

Representative: You will be providing administrative help as a representative to manage submissions for registrant's accounts.

Action Review the descriptions then click on the purpose of the account that is right for you.

If you select Consultant Lobbyist or Chairperson or member of the board of Directors, you will be required to enter information regarding any public offices you may have held.

If you select Most senior paid officer or Representative, you will be required to enter only Contact Information on this page. (For more information on representative accounts, please see section 3.4 Linking to a Representative's Account.)

Action

Complete all applicable fields in the Account Creation page, and click Save and Continue to move to the next step.

Contact Information

In this section, you must provide your first name, last name, preferred language correspondence, address, etc., to create your user profile within the Lobbyists Registration System. For an organization or corporation, this is the name and the contact information for the most senior paid employee of the organization or corporation.

For consultant lobbyists, if you work for a firm that has different legal names in both official languages, please enter the two names in the appropriate fields to facilitate searches within the Registry of Lobbyists. If you are self-employed, please respond No to the question Are you a consultant who works for a consulting firm?

Note Mandatory fields are indicated by an asterisk ( * ).

Last Designated Public Office Held

Please indicate whether or not you held a Designated Public Office in the federal government within the last 5 years. If you have held one of these positions, enter the last day on which you held the position.

Pursuant to the Lobbying Act , Designated Public Office Holders (DPOH) are defined as Members of Parliament, Senators, Ministers, Ministers of State, ministerial staff, senior public officials such as Deputy Ministers, and Associate and Assistant Deputy Ministers (including those of comparable rank), as well as certain other senior positions designated by regulation. (See list of prescribed positions at Section 1.3.)

In order to determine if a particular position is of comparable rank to an Associate Deputy Minister or an Assistant Deputy Minister please consult the Commissioner's Interpretation Bulletin on "Comparable Rank" for Designated Public Offices.

If an individual is acting in a DPOH position for more than four consecutive months, the individual will be designated a DPOH. (See Interpretation Bulletin on Acting Appointments in Designated Public Office Holder Positions.)

Exemption Number

Exemptions may be granted by the Commissioner of Lobbying to the five-year prohibition on lobbying activities imposed on former designated public office holders by the Lobbying Act . If you were granted such an exemption by the Commissioner, you need to specify your exemption number in this section.

Username, Password and Secret Question

Enter a username and password that you will remember. You are encouraged to select a password that is highly secure by using, for example, a combination of both upper- and lower-case letters, numerical digits and special characters; and to change this password periodically, e.g., every 90 days. Entering the secret question and answer will allow you to reset your password in the event that you have forgotten it.

Action

Once you have completed all applicable fields in the Account Creation - Username/Password page, click Continue which you will then be presented with a confirmation page. Additionally, you will have received an Account Activation e-mail.

3.3 Activate your Account

The final step in creating your account involves responding to the Account Activation e-mail you should have received. By clicking on the activation link, your account will be set as Active, and you will now be able to login to access the system.

Note

If you did not receive an Activation e-mail it may be due to your account requiring review by OCL. In this case, you may be contacted by OCL to clarify information regarding your account.

3.4 Linking to a Representative's Account

As the registrant, you may, as an option, authorize another person (your representative) in the firm, corporation or organization (or an individual external to the firm, corporation or organization) to complete the information required in your registration and monthly communication report.

Note

Although representatives may perform a large number of duties on behalf of the registrant, only registrants have the right to certify registrations or monthly communication reports with their account passwords.

Before you can link a representative to your account, the representative will first need to create a representative account (see Create an Account and Profile). During the account creation process, the representative should take note of his/her account number, which is provided in the Create Account Confirmation screen, so that it can be provided to you for the linking process.

At any time, representatives can log in using their username and password and retrieve their account number from their Account Profile.

How to link a Representative's Account to a Registrant's Account

To link your account to a representative's account, you will first have to log into your account using your username and password. After you are logged in as the registrant, you must:

select Account Profile within your username menu item at the top right of the page,
click the Account Representatives tab,
click the Add Representative button at the bottom of the screen,
type in your Representative account number,
click the Add button, and finally
click the Save button.

Once this linking process is complete, your representative's dashboard will provide access to your registrations and monthly communication reports.

3.5 Submit Registrations in the LRS

With your activated account, you can now submit registrations for lobbying activities. Within the registration process, the information required will vary depending on which type of registration you are submitting. The next three chapters of this guide provide detailed instructions for creating a registration for consultant lobbyists, in-house organizations and in-house corporations.

In general terms, the following process is required to successfully register a lobbying activity:

Fill in the registration appropriate to your lobbying activity.
Certify the registration using your username and password. This will submit the registration to the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying.
The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying will review the registration and either accept it, or send it back to you for corrections. Either way, you will receive an email.
Once accepted, the registration will be published to the Registry of Lobbyists.

4. Create a Consultant Lobbyist Registration

Consultant lobbyists are required to register each of their lobbying activities on behalf of each client, within 10 calendar days of entering into an undertaking. Follow the instructions below to register your consultant lobbying activities:

Once your account has been activated, click on the following link and log into the Lobbyists Registration System using your username and password: https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/lgn?lang=eng

Action

On your Registrant Dashboard, click the Create New Registration button, and then select the Consultant registration type.

Note

4.1 Information about the Lobbyist

The first step of the registration process captures the Consultant Lobbyist's Profile.

Registrant

In this section, you must provide your coordinates and those of your firm (name, English and French firm name, address, telephone, e-mail). If you entered the firm information during the account creation process, you can select that firm within the Contact profile section and click Apply.

Over time, a consultant lobbyist's circumstances may change, and a self-employed lobbyist may become employed by a firm, or vice versa; or in some cases, lobbyists operate both as self-employed and as employees of a consulting firm. For these reasons, it is possible to have several firm profiles, each with distinct coordinates, within the same Consultant Lobbyist's LRS account. For guidance on creating multiple firm profiles, please see Section 7.4, Managing Firm Profiles for Consultant Lobbyists.

Public Offices Held with the Federal Government

If you have held a public office, you must disclose, for each position held, the position title, the federal government institution, the branch or unit name, as well as the period during which you performed those functions.

The Commissioner has issued an Interpretation Bulletin providing guidance to those who have previously held public office. See Disclosure of Previous Public Offices.

The last question asks Was this a designated public office held on or after July 2, 2008? . If you answer Yes, then you must enter the last day the designated public office was held. (For more information on which positions are designated public offices, please refer to Section 3.2, Last Designated Public Office Held.)

Note

Once you have entered all previous public offices held, you will not have to re-enter the information as the content will be carried over to all future registrations.

Action

On the Public Offices Held page, click the Continue button to return to the Information about Lobbyist page.

Exemption Number

If the Commissioner of Lobbying has granted you an exemption from the five-year prohibition on lobbying activities, please provide the exemption number in this section.

4.2 Information about the Client

The second step of the registration process captures information about the Consultant Lobbyist's client.

Action Enter the name of your client in both English and French if applicable.

Consultant Lobbyist's business relationship with the client

This section requires you to indicate whether you are a member of the board of directors of your client if your client is a corporation, or a member or a member of the board of directors of your client if your client is an organization.

Business Address

This section requests your client's street address, city, province and postal code.

Principal Representative

This section requests the name and position title of your main contact with the client.

Action

Enter the name and position of your main contact, then click the Save and Continue button to navigate to the next step.

Note

A consulting firm may assign several consultant lobbyists to work on the same undertaking for the same client. In such a case, much of the information to be disclosed may end up being common to these consultants. However, each consultant lobbyist is individually responsible for compliance with the Act, and must disclose and certify the information in his or her individual return. For information on how to copy an existing registration please see Section 7.5, Copying an Existing Consultant Lobbyist Registration to Create a New Registration.

4.3 Business Relationships of the Client

The third step of the registration process requests any business relationship where the client is a subsidiary of another corporation (i.e. a parent) and/or is a coalition.

Note If applicable, please include the coordinates of all members of a coalition.

4.4 Information about Other Beneficiaries

The fourth step of the registration process requests the name and coordinates of any of your client's subsidiaries or of any other person or organization who may have a direct interest in the outcome of your lobbying activities.

Note You can enter more than one subsidiary and/or direct interest if required.

4.5 Information about Government Funding

In the fifth step of the registration process, you must disclose if your client has received any funding during its last completed financial year from any Canadian or foreign governments, including any municipal, provincial, territorial, regional or state government, or if they expect to receive funding in the current year. If your client has received funding or expects to receive any such funding during its current financial year, you must report the source of that funding.

Funding means money made available for a particular purpose for which goods or services are not received in return, or for which repayment is not required. It includes grants and non-repayable contributions, but repayable contributions, loans, loan guarantees, tax credits, remission orders and procurement contracts would not need to be reported.

The following table provides examples of funding that should and should not be reported.

Various government grants
Non-repayable contributions
Any other non-repayable funding

Repayable contributions
Loans & loan guarantees
Tax credits
Remission orders
Goods and/or service contracts

If you answer Yes to the question regarding whether your client received government funding, you will be asked to provide the source and amount of the funding in Canadian dollars.

4.6 Information about Subject Matter

The sixth step of the registration process requires that you provide the subject matter of your lobbying activity as well as the associated details such as the title of each legislative proposal, bill or resolution, regulation, policy or program, along with a description.

For each subject matter selected, you must describe the details of the activity, then select the associated category from the list of five choices offered.

Subject Matter of the Undertaking

In a drop-down menu, this section provides an extensive list from which you can choose the subject matter (e.g., Agriculture, Budget, Defence, Immigration, Mining, Transportation, etc.). You may add as many Subject Matters as apply to your undertaking.

Action

From the list of topics provided in the drop-down menu, select the one that best describes the subject matter of your lobbying activities, then click the Add to List button. Repeat this selection process for each subject matter that applies.

Details Regarding the Identified Subject Matter of the Undertaking

In this section, you must provide details of each of the subject matters that you selected above, and check from a list of five associated categories (i.e., Legislative Proposal, Bill or Resolution; Regulation; Policies or Program; Grant, Contribution or Other Financial Benefit; Government Contract Pursued). Each Detail must be entered and added to the list separately, and provide specific information related to the subject matter of the lobbying activities.

Several examples are provided within the application. These are further examples of the type of detail that should be provided for each subject matter:

Subject Matter: "Environment". Category: "Legislative Proposal, Bill or Resolution". Details: Bill C-30, Clean Air Act in respect of quotas for greenhouse gases.
Subject Matter: "Health". Category: "Regulation". Details: Amendments to the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliances) Regulations regarding the right to appeal.
Subject Matter: "Energy". Category: "Policies or Program". Details: Canada's energy policy with respect to rules governing energy trade between Canada and the United States.
Subject Matter: "Arts and Culture". Category: "Grant, Contribution or Other Financial Benefit". Details: Seeking funding from the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for marketing and promotion.
Subject Matter: "Defence". Category: "Government Contract Pursued". Details: Contract with National Defence concerning Joint Support Ship (JSS) Project.

4.7 Information about Communication

In this final step, you will be asked to provide the list of the government departments that you have contacted or plan to contact as well as the communication techniques that you will use in the course of your lobbying activities.

The Commissioner has issued an Interpretation Bulletin providing guidance on Communication with Federal Public Office Holders.

Government Institutions

A drop-down menu allows you to choose the Federal Government institutions with which you will communicate.

Note

If your lobbying activities bring you into contact with government institutions that are not included in this list, please inform the OCL so that these new institutions may be added for the convenience of all registrants.

Communication Techniques

Three pre-defined choices are offered (oral, written, grass-roots) or you may provide, in your own words, a description of any other type of communication that you plan to employ. Please see the Glossary for a definition of grass-roots communication.

Action

Check off all the communication techniques that you have used or expect to use in the course of your lobbying activities.

Information about the Undertaking

With a Yes or No, you will have to answer whether you plan to arrange one or more meetings with a public office holder on behalf of your client.

Note

Simply arranging a meeting between a public office holder and another individual triggers the need to register. The consultant lobbyist is required to register the undertaking with the OCL even if the meeting is introductory in nature, whether or not any lobbying takes place at the meeting and even if the consultant lobbyist does not participate in the meeting.

Action Click the Save button to view the Consultant Summary screen.

4.8 Certification and Submission of Registration

The Consultant Summary screen displays the information you provided in each step of your registration.

Note

Each section of the Consultant Summary screen is preceded by a Status symbol. All sections must be complete before your registration can be submitted.

You can review your entries, and if you wish to modify the content, click the Edit Information about… button at the bottom of each section.

Action Once you have reviewed your Consultant Summary, click on the Certify and Submit button.

The Certification of Return page will appear. It asks that you certify that

the information is true; and
the payment provided for this undertaking respects the prohibition on contingency payments in the Lobbying Act .

Effective Date

In a calendar box at the bottom of the page, you are asked to enter the date on which this submission takes effect. This is the date on which you agreed to the undertaking, which may not be the date when actual lobbying activities commenced.

Note

In this calendar box, you must enter the effective date of your undertaking and not the date that you certify your registration, which is often a few days later. The Lobbying Act requires that consultant lobbyists file an initial registration with the OCL no later than 10 days after entering into the undertaking.

Action

Once you have entered the effective date of your undertaking, enter your Account Username and Password, and then click on the Submit button to submit your registration for review by the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying.

The Confirmation of Filing page will appear, providing summary account information and confirming your submission date to the OCL. Additionally, an acknowledgment email will be sent. During the OCL review process, if the registration requires any corrections or clarifications, an email will be sent. If corrections are required, you will be asked to resubmit your registration with the required detail within 10 calendar days.

Note

As soon as your registration is submitted, you can start filing monthly communication reports. For information on submitting reports, please refer to Chapter 7.

4.9 Activities Following Registration

Chapter 7 describes activities that will occur after you register as a lobbyist. These include:

Submitting Monthly Returns
Terminating a Registration
Managing Firm Profiles for Consultant Lobbyists
Copying an Existing Consultant Lobbyist Registration

5. Create an Organization Registration

Organizations that employ individuals who communicate with public office holders on certain subject matters on behalf of the organization are required to register if those duties constitute a significant part of the duties of one employee or would constitute a significant part of the duties of one employee if they were performed by only one employee.

The most senior paid employee of an organization should use this registration type if one or more employees' duties entail communication with public office holders, and the collective time devoted to those duties equates to 20% or more of one employee's time over a one month period. Note that the time spent communicating, travelling and preparing for communicating with public office holders should be included in the calculation.

In situations where the time related to lobbying is difficult to estimate, the most senior paid employee will have to estimate the relative importance of the lobbying activities by examining, for example, the various duties for which the employee is responsible and determining the proportion related to lobbying activities.

The registration must include the names of all remunerated employees who lobby on behalf of the organization.

Note

Because they are not employees, remunerated external members of Boards of Directors who lobby on behalf of an organization for which they are Directors, cannot register as in-house lobbyists (organizations). The same rule applies to members of organizations who are paid to lobby on behalf of those same organizations. They must instead register as consultant lobbyists within 10 days of accepting, verbally or in writing, to lobby on behalf of the organization. See Advisory Opinion on Application of the Act to outside chairpersons and members.

Please follow the instructions below to register your organization's lobbying activities:

Once your account has been activated, click on the following link and log into the Lobbyists Registration System using your username and password: https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/lgn?lang=eng

Action In the New Activities tab of the Registrant Dashboard, select In-house Organization.

5.1 Responsible Officer and Organization

The first step of the registration process captures information about the most senior paid employee of the organization.

Note

Only the most senior paid employee of the organization can submit a registration on behalf of the organization.

Responsible Officer

This section uses the name of the registrant (who is the most senior paid employee of the organization) and requests his/her position title. Examples of the position titles of registrants in organizations are Executive Director, President, Chief Executive Officer, General Manager and/or Chief Operating Officer.

Organization Contact

This section requests the French and English names of the organization, if applicable, as well as its contact coordinates (address and telephone number).

Description of Organization

This section asks for a general description of the organization's activities and its membership, so as to provide a context for the organization's lobbying activities.

5.2 Organizational Lobbyists

The second step of the registration process captures information about the employees of the organization who are involved in lobbying.

Action

Click the Add Lobbyist button to add an organizational lobbyist. Click the Add the Responsible Officer as a Lobbyist button if the Responsible Officer is carrying out any lobbying duties and is therefore an organizational lobbyist.

A new screen will open, allowing you to capture the name and position of each lobbyist.

Work History with the Federal Government

For each lobbyist within the organization that has held a public office, you must disclose, for each position held, the position title, the federal government institution, the branch or unit name, as well as the period during which those functions were performed.

Exemption Number

If the Commissioner of Lobbying has granted a lobbyist within your organization an exemption from the five-year prohibition on lobbying activities, please provide the exemption number in this section.
For more information please see the 5-year post-employment prohibition on lobbying.

5.3 Information about Government Funding

In the third step of the registration process, you must disclose if the organization has received any funding during its last completed financial year from Canadian or foreign governments, including any municipal, provincial, territorial, regional or state government or if they expect to receive funding in the current year. If the organization has received funding or expects to receive any such funding during its current financial year, you must report the source of that funding.

Funding means money made available for a particular purpose for which goods or services are not received in return, or for which repayment is not required. It includes federal grants and non-repayable contributions, but repayable contributions, loans, loan guarantees, tax credits, remission orders and procurement contracts would not need to be reported.

The following table provides examples of funding that should and should not be reported.

Various government grants
Non-repayable contributions
Any other non-repayable funding

Repayable contributions
Loans & loan guarantees
Tax credits
Remission orders
Goods and/or service contracts

If you answer Yes to the question regarding whether the organization received government funding, you will be asked to provide the source and amount of the funding in Canadian dollars.

5.4 Information about Subject Matter

The fourth step of the registration process requires that you provide the subject matter of your lobbying activity as well as the associated details such as the title of each legislative proposal, bill or resolution, regulation, policy or program, along with a description.

Subject Matter of the Lobbying Activity

Action

Details Regarding the Identified Subject Matter

In this section, you must provide details of each of the subject matters that you selected above, and check from a list of four associated categories (i.e., Legislative Proposal, Bill or Resolution; Regulation; Policies or Program; Grant, Contribution or Other Financial Benefit). Each Detail must be entered and added to the list separately, and provide specific information related to the subject matter of the lobbying activities.

Several examples are provided within the application. These are further examples of the type of detail that should be provided for each subject matter:

Subject Matter: "Environment". Category: "Legislative Proposal, Bill or Resolution". Details: Bill C-30, Clean Air Act in respect of quotas for greenhouse gases.
Subject Matter: "Health". Category: "Regulation". Details: Amendments to the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliances) Regulations regarding the right to appeal.
Subject Matter: "Energy". Category: "Policies or Program". Details: Canada's energy policy with respect to rules governing energy trade between Canada and the United States.
Subject Matter: "Arts and Culture". Category: "Grant, Contribution or Other Financial Benefit". Details: Seeking funding from the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for marketing and promotion.

Action

For each subject matter selected, please provide a detailed description of the activity, then from the list of four choices offered, select the associated category.

5.5 Information about Communication

The Commissioner has issued an Interpretation Bulletin providing guidance on Communication with Federal Public Office Holders.

Government Institutions

A drop-down menu allows you to choose the Federal Government institutions with which you will communicate.

Note

Communication Techniques

Action

Check off all the communication techniques that you have used or expect to use in the course of your lobbying activities.

5.6 Certification and Submission of Registration

The Organization Summary screen displays the information you provided in each step of the registration. Consequently, it contains five sections.

Note

Each section of the Organization Summary screen is preceded by a Status symbol. All sections must be complete before the registration can be submitted.

You can review the entries made in each step, and if you wish to modify the content, click the Edit Information about… button at the bottom of each section.

Action Once you have reviewed your Organization Summary, click on the Certify and Submit button.

The Certification of Return page will appear. It asks that you certify that the information is true.

Effective Date

In a calendar box at the bottom of the page, you are asked to enter the date on which this submission takes effect.

Note

In this calendar box, you must enter the effective date of your lobbying activity and not the date that you certify your registration, which is often a few days later. The Lobbying Act requires that in-house lobbyists file an initial registration no later than two months after the day on which the requirement to file a return arises.

Action

Once you have entered the effective date of your lobbying activity, enter your Account Username and Password, and then click on the Submit button to submit your registration for review by the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying.

Note

As soon as your registration is submitted, you can start filing monthly communication reports. For information on submitting reports, please refer to Chapter 7.

5.7 Activities Following Registration

Chapter 7 describes activities that will occur after you register as a lobbyist. These include:

Submitting Monthly Returns
Terminating a Registration
Responsible Officer Change for In-house Registrations

6. Create a Corporate Registration

In-house corporations that employ individuals who communicate with public office holders on certain subject matters are required to register if those duties constitute a significant part of the duties of one employee or would constitute a significant part of the duties of one employee if they were performed by only one employee. In-house lobbyists (Corporations) work for compensation in an entity that operates for profit.

The most senior paid employee of a corporation should use this registration type if one or more employees' duties involve communication with public office holders, and the collective time devoted to those duties equates to 20% or more of one employee's time over a one month period. Note that the time spent communicating, travelling and preparing for communicating with public office holders should be included in the calculation.

The registration must include two separate lists of employees who communicate with public office holders. The first must include the names and titles of senior officers and employees whose lobbying activities represent a significant part of their duties (i.e. 20% or more), and the second list must include the names and titles of all other senior officers of the corporation not listed in the first list, whose lobbying activities represent any part of their duties (less than 20%).

Note

Because they are not employees, remunerated external members of Boards of Directors who lobby on behalf of a corporation for which they are Directors, cannot register as in-house lobbyists (corporations). They must instead register as consultant lobbyists within 10 days of accepting, verbally or in writing, to lobby on behalf of the corporation. See Advisory Opinion on Application of the Act to outside chairpersons and members.

Please follow the instructions below to register your corporation's lobbying activities:

Once your account has been activated, click on the following link and log into the Lobbyists Registration System using your username and password: https://lobbycanada.gc.ca/app/secure/ocl/lrs/do/lgn?lang=eng

Action In the New Activities tab of the Registrant Dashboard, select In-house Corporation.

6.1 Responsible Officer and Corporation

The first step of the registration process captures the Profile of the most senior paid employee of the corporation.

Note

Only the most senior paid employee of the corporation can submit a registration on behalf of the corporation.

Responsible Officer

This section uses the name of the registrant (who is the most senior paid employee of the corporation) and requests his/her position title. Examples of the position titles of registrants in corporations are President, Chief Executive Officer, General Manager and/or Chief Operating Officer

Corporation Contact

This section requests the French and English names of the corporation, if applicable, as well as its contact coordinates (address and telephone number).

Corporation Description

This section asks for a general description of the corporation's activities, so as to provide a context for the corporation's lobbying activities.

6.2 Business Relationships of the Corporation

The second step of the registration process requests any business relationship where the corporation is a subsidiary of another corporation. If any parent companies exist for the corporation, information related to each is required.

6.3 Information about Other Beneficiaries

The third step of the registration process requests the name and coordinates of any of the corporation's subsidiaries who may have a direct interest in the outcome of the corporation's lobbying activities.

6.4 Information about Corporate Lobbyists

The fourth step of the registration process captures information about the employees of the corporation who are involved in lobbying.

All Senior Officers of the corporation (defined as the group consisting of the most senior paid employee of the corporation and all his/her direct reports) who carry out any lobbying activities must be listed as in-house lobbyists (corporations). All other paid employees of the corporation for whom lobbying activities represent a significant part of their duties (20% or more) must also be listed in the corporation's registration. In the case of Senior Officers of the corporation, you will be asked to indicate whether or not lobbying activities represent more or less than 20% of their duties.

The officer responsible for filing the registration (i.e., the most senior paid officer) is also required by the Lobbying Act to provide the prescribed information concerning the public offices and the designated public offices previously held by in-house corporate lobbyists within the federal government.

Action

Click the Add Lobbyist button to add a corporate lobbyist. Click the Add the Responsible Officer as a Lobbyist button if the Responsible Officer is carrying out any lobbying duties and is therefore a corporate lobbyist.

A new screen will open, allowing you to capture the name and position of each lobbyist.

Work History with the Federal Government

For each lobbyist within the corporation that has held a public office, you must disclose, for each position held, the position title, the federal government institution, the branch or unit name, as well as the period during which those functions were performed.

Exemption Number

If the Commissioner of Lobbying has granted a lobbyist within your corporation an exemption from the five-year prohibition on lobbying activities, please provide the exemption number in this section.

6.5 Information about Government Funding

In the fifth step of the registration process, you must disclose if the corporation has received any funding during its last completed financial year from Canadian or foreign governments, including any municipal, provincial, territorial, regional or state government, or if they expect to receive funding in the current year. If your corporation has received funding or expects to receive any such funding during its current financial year, you must report the source of that funding.

The following table provides examples of funding that should and should not be reported.

Various government grants
Non-repayable contributions
Any other non-repayable funding

Repayable contributions
Loans & loan guarantees
Tax credits
Remission orders
Goods and/or service contracts

If you answer Yes to the question regarding whether the corporation received government funding, you will be asked to provide the source and amount of the funding in Canadian dollars.

6.6 Information about Subject Matter

Subject Matter of the Lobbying Activity

Action

Details Regarding the Identified Subject Matter

Several examples are provided within the application. These are further examples of the type of detail that should be provided for each subject matter:

Subject Matter: "Environment". Category: "Legislative Proposal, Bill or Resolution". Details: Bill C-30, Clean Air Act in respect of quotas for greenhouse gases.
Subject Matter: "Health". Category: "Regulation". Details: Amendments to the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliances) Regulations regarding the right to appeal.
Subject Matter: "Energy". Category: "Policies or Program". Details: Canada's energy policy with respect to rules governing energy trade between Canada and the United States.
Subject Matter: "Arts and Culture". Category: "Grant, Contribution or Other Financial Benefit". Details: Seeking funding from the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for marketing and promotion.

Action

For each subject matter selected, please provide a detailed description of the activity, then from the list of four choices offered, select the associated category.

6.7 Information about Communication

The Commissioner has issued an Interpretation Bulletin providing guidance on Communication with Federal Public Office Holders.

Government Institutions

A drop-down menu allows you to choose the Federal Government institutions with which you will communicate.

Note

Communication Techniques

Action

Check off the communication techniques that you have used or expect to use in the course of your lobbying activities.

6.8 Certification and Submission of Registration

The Corporation Summary screen displays the information you provided in each step of the registration.

Note

Each section of the Corporation Summary screen is preceded by a Status symbol. All sections must be complete before the registration can be submitted.

You can review your entries, and if you wish to modify content, click the Edit Information about… button at the bottom of each section.

Action Once you have reviewed your Corporation Summary, click on the Certify and Submit button.

The Certification of Return page will appear. It asks that you certify that the information is true.

Effective Date

In a calendar box at the bottom of the page, you are asked to enter the date on which this submission takes effect.

Note

Action

The Confirmation of Filing page will appear, providing summary account information and confirming your submission date to the OCL. Additionally, an acknowledgment email will be sent. During the review process, if the registration requires corrections or clarifications, an email will be sent. If corrections are required, you will be asked to resubmit your registration with the required detail within 10 calendar days.

Note

As soon as your registration is submitted, you can start filing monthly communication reports. For information on submitting reports, please refer to Chapter 7.

6.9 Activities Following Registration

Chapter 7 describes activities that will occur after you register as a lobbyist. These include:

Submitting Monthly Returns
Terminating a Registration
Responsible Officer Change for In-house Lobbyists

7. Activities Following Registration

This chapter describes activities that will occur after you register as a lobbyist. These include:

Submitting Monthly Returns
Terminating a Registration
Responsible Officer Change for In-house Lobbyists
Managing Firm Profiles for Consultant Lobbyists
Copying an Existing Consultant Lobbyist Registration

7.1 Submitting Monthly Returns

Registration Updates

The Act stipulates that registrations must be updated no later than 15 days after the end of a month if information contained in an active registration is no longer correct or additional information that the registrant has become aware of should be included in the registration (e.g., new in-house lobbyist, new government institution being lobbied, new subject matter being lobbied, etc.).

Six-Month Returns

If five months have elapsed since the end of a month in which either:

a registration (new, update or reactivation) was filed, or;
a monthly communication report was filed,

the Act requires that the registrant file a six-month return before the first of the following month. When you begin a six-month return, you have the option to either:

confirm that the registration information remains unchanged and that there have not been any oral and arranged communications with a designated public office holder; or
proceed to update the registration with any changes required.

Note

During the Six-Month Return process, you will have the opportunity to instead update the registration. When an update is certified, the Six-Month Return is no longer required.

Monthly Communication Reports

Monthly communication reports must be filed not later than 15 days after the end of any month in which communication of a prescribed type involving a designated public office holder took place. Pursuant to the Lobbying Act , Designated Public Office Holders (DPOH) are defined as Members of Parliament, Senators, Ministers, Ministers of State, ministerial staff, senior public officials such as Deputy Ministers, and Associate and Assistant Deputy Ministers (including those of comparable rank), as well as certain other senior positions designated by regulation. (See list of prescribed positions at Section 1.3.)

The Lobbyists Registration Regulations prescribe the types of communications that must be reported in a monthly report as "oral and arranged communications excluding oral and arranged communications initiated by public office holders related to the development or amendment of policy, programs, regulations or legislation." In-house and consultant lobbyists must report all oral and arranged communications relating to financial benefits, even when initiated by a public officer holder. Likewise, consultant lobbyists must report oral and arranged communications relating to a contract regardless of who initiated the communication.

The tables below summarize the criteria to be used by consultant lobbyists (Table 1) and in-house lobbyists (Table 2) to determine whether or not to report certain communications with a DPOH.

Table 1 - Communications with DPOHs by Consultant Lobbyists

Monthly Communications Reports Communications between DPOHs and Consultant Lobbyists
Oral and arranged communication(s)	Related to the development or amendment of policies, programs, regulations or legislations	Related to government contracts	Related to financial benefits, i.e. grant or contribution
Initiated by someone other than a POH:	Yes	Yes	Yes
Initiated by a POH:	No	Yes	Yes

Table 2 - Communications with DPOHs by In-House Lobbyists

Monthly Communications Reports Communications between DPOHs and In-House Lobbyists
Oral and arranged communication(s)	Related to the development or amendment of policies, programs, regulations or legislations	Related to financial benefits, i.e. a grant or contribution
Initiated by someone other than a POH:	Yes	Yes
Initiated by a POH:	No	Yes

Note

Oral communications with Designated Public Office Holders include phone conversations, meetings, and any other oral communication such as a communication that takes place over the Internet using VoIP or other modern technologies.

An arranged communication is one that has been arranged in advance, and where:

there is a request made;
the request is accepted; and
there is a time interval between the request and the communication.

The monthly communication report must contain:

the names of the designated public office holders who participated in the communication,
the position titles of the designated public office holders,
the names of the branches or units and the names of the government institutions in which the designated public office holders worked at the time of the communication,
the date of the communication, and
the subject-matters of the communication.

Note

Before they can file monthly communication reports with the OCL, registrants must:

have an active account with the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying and
have submitted a certified registration.

To submit a monthly communication report, return to the Registrant Dashboard.

From the Current Activities tab, choose the registration for which a monthly communication report must be filed, then click the Add New link in the Communication Reports section.

Before entering the data concerning monthly communications with designated public office holders, you must first confirm that the information in the underlying registration is complete and accurate. To do this, scroll through the registration to view it. If the registration needs to be updated, click the Return to Registrant Dashboard link at the bottom left of the page.

If either the subject matter of your communication or the government institution of the DPOH with whom you communicated is not in the In Associated Registration list, scroll down and you will find them in the Not in Associated Registration list. This means that you will need to update the underlying registration as soon as possible.

In the Certify Communication Report page, review all the information entered to ensure it is correct. Check the corresponding box to confirm that the information entered is true to the best of your knowledge. Choose whether you wish to publish the monthly communication report immediately in the Registry of Lobbyists, or have the system publish it automatically on the due date. Enter your username and password, then click the Certify button.

Your communication report has now been submitted and a confirmation page is shown. We recommend that you keep a copy for your files.

Note

Click on What is a DPOH? to ensure that the person you have communicated with holds a designated position.

A Government Electronic Directory Services (GEDS) icon link beside each first name field is provided to allow you to conduct a search and confirm the spelling of a DPOH name. OCL highly encourages registrants to use this tool to ensure accuracy of data.

Managing Monthly Communication Reports

Accessing your previously entered monthly communication reports depends upon if your registration activity is currently active or inactive.

For Active or Pending Registration Activities:

From the Current Activities tab on the Registrant Dashboard, click the View link in the Communication Reports section for the registration activity you would like to access. This will provide the list of communication reports specific to that registration activity.
The default view presents all monthly communication reports with communication dates within the last six months. If you require to view reports with communication dates prior to the last six months, select the month and year and click the View button. From here, you can also amend or cancel your monthly communication reports as per the instructions below.

For Inactive Registration Activities:

From the Previous Activities tab on the Registrant Dashboard, click the link in the Client, Corporation or Organization Name and Registration column for the activity you would like to access. This will provide the list of communication reports specific to that registration activity.
The default view presents all monthly communication reports with communication dates within the last six months. If you require to view reports with communication dates prior to the last six months, select the month and year and click the View button. From here, you can also amend or cancel your monthly communication reports as per the instructions below.

There are two reasons that a monthly communication report might need to be amended or cancelled:

You discover an error in the monthly communication report;
The OCL or an interested party discovers a possible error in the monthly communication report (e.g., through verification by the OCL's Compliance Officer).

Note

A sample of lobbyists' communication reports is reviewed by the OCL's Compliance Officer every month. The review will consist of verifying with the Designated Public Office Holder that the dates and details provided in the report are correct. In some cases, errors will be identified, either as a result of the OCL staff's follow-up with a DPOH or through reports made by other interested parties who scan the publicly available reports.

To amend a monthly communication report, follow the steps below:

Click on the Amend link adjacent to the monthly communication report you wish to amend;
After reviewing the information in your registration, click on the Confirm button if you wish to complete the amendment process;
Amend the information you wish to modify;
Provide the reason why the amendment was made;
Enter your username and password and click on the Certify button.

Note

If you amend a certified monthly communication report, this amended version will replace the previous one. The new monthly communication report will be available in the Registry with a link to the original version.

To cancel a monthly communication report, follow the steps below:

Click on the Cancel link adjacent to the monthly communication report you wish to cancel;
Check the confirmation box and provide the reason for cancelling this certified monthly communication report;
Enter your username and password and click on the Certify button.

Note

If you cancel a certified communication report, it will not be available within the Registry but will remain in your Registrant dashboard with a Cancelled status.

7.2 Terminating a Registration

In accordance with the Act, registrants must inform the Commissioner when a lobbyist's undertaking has been performed or is terminated, or when an organization or corporation no longer meets the significant part of duties threshold (see sections 5 and 6 of this guide, as well as the Interpretation Bulletin relating to significant part of duties (the 20 % rule).)

When a lobbyist's undertaking is completed or terminated, or when a corporation or organization no longer meets the significant part of duties threshold, registrants must terminate the registration no later than 15 days after the end of the month in which that situation occurs.

To terminate an activity, first go to the Current Activities tab of the Registrant Dashboard. Click on the End Activity link for the activity you want to terminate, confirm the lobbying activity has now ceased, enter the date on which the lobbying activity ceased and then enter your username and password.

Note

Registrants can reactivate terminated registrations using the Previous Activities tab on the registrant's dashboard.

7.3 Responsible Officer Change

Note This feature applies to In-House Corporations and In-House Organizations only.

Occasionally, a corporation or an organization will have a change at its most senior level, which will trigger a need to update the information concerning the senior officer responsible for filing in the Lobbyists Registration System (i.e. the registrant). The registrant is the employee who holds the most senior remunerated executive position within the corporation or organization (e.g. the Chief Executive Officer, the Executive Director or the President). The information in the existing account can be transferred, however, this is an administrative process performed by the OCL staff only. In order to transfer the content of an In-House Corporation's or an In-House Organization's registration from the current registrant to the new registrant's account, the Corporation or Organization must contact the OCL who will email the transfer procedures and request further information. When it receives a satisfactory reply to these questions as well as a new Registrant User Agreement, the OCL will proceed to change your organization's most senior officer in the Lobbyists Registration System.

Once the transfer process is finalized, the OCL will advise you via e-mail that your registration has been updated to reflect the change of registrant.

Note

If the new registrant already has a user account, he/she will continue to use his/her current account and will not need to create another one. However, in all cases, a new Registrant User Agreement (RUA) must be completed and sent by email, fax or mail to the OCL.

7.4 Managing Firm Profiles for Consultant Lobbyists

Note This feature applies to Consultant Lobbyists only.

The Consultant's Firm Profiles section within the registrant dashboard allows you to do the following:

Update contact information within existing firm profiles;
Add new firm profiles;
Remove firm profiles no longer used within active registrations.

Updating Existing Firm Profiles

If the address, telephone number or email addresses have changed for the consulting firm profile, you can update this information once without having to update each registration independently.
To edit existing firm profiles:

From the Registrant Dashboard, in the left-hand column, under Registrant Menu, click Consultant's Firm Profiles.
On the Consultant's Firm Profiles screen, click the View/Edit link for the profile you wish to edit.
In the Edit Firm Profile screen, modify any content that is required. Once this is saved, any active registration that was using this firm profile, will now show the updated information.

Note

You cannot edit a consulting firm name if the firm profile is already being used by an active registration. If the name of your consulting firm has changed, you will need to create a new firm profile, then update all your registrations and apply the new firm profile.

Adding New Firm Profiles

It is possible to have several firm profiles, each with distinct coordinates, within the same Consultant Lobbyist's LRS account. Separate profiles allow the lobbyists to apply the appropriate firm profile to each lobbying activity.

To add a new firm profile:

In the registrant dashboard, in the left-hand column, under Registrant Menu, click Consultant's Firm Profiles.
On the Consultant's Firm Profiles screen, click the Create firm profile link.
In the Create Firm Profile screen, enter the new firm's coordinates.

Remove Firm Profiles

If you are no longer using a firm profile within an active or pending registration, you can remove the profile from your list.

To remove a firm profile:

From the registrant dashboard, in the left-hand column, under Registrant Menu, click Consultant's Firm Profiles.
On the Consultant's Firm Profiles screen, click Remove for the firm profile you no longer use.
Confirm the removal of the firm.

7.5 Copying an Existing Consultant Lobbyist Registration to Create a New Registration

Note This feature applies to Consultant lobbyists registrations only.

If you wish to submit a new consultant registration using the same or similar content as another registration that is currently in the public registry for the same client, you can save time by using the Copy Registration feature provided in the Lobbyists Registration System.

Things you should know about the Copy Registration feature

Only Consultant Registrations can be copied.
Only registrations that have been accepted and are in the Public Registry can be copied.
Copying a registration creates a new registration submission. You cannot use the copy function to submit an update or a reactivation to an existing lobbying activity.
You cannot copy a registration with a client name that has already been used within the registrant's account.
All information is copied except the information on the lobbyist. When the registration is copied, the system will apply the recipient's lobbyist information in place of the original owner of the registration which was copied.

To create a new registration from an existing consultant registration, consultant lobbyists should return to the Registrant Dashboard.

There are two ways to copy a consultant registration.

The first approach is available to Registrants, Registrants/Representatives and Representatives (from the New Activities tab).
The second approach is only available to Registrants/Representatives and Representatives (from the Current Activities tab).

Glossary

This Glossary includes two sections:

Definitions drawn from the Lobbying Act
A Lexicon of terms frequently used in the Lobbyists Registration System.

Lobbying Act Definitions

occupies the senior executive position, whether by the title of deputy minister, chief executive officer or by some other title, or
is an associate deputy minister or an assistant deputy minister or occupies a position of comparable rank, and

a business, trade, industry, professional or voluntary organization,
a trade union or labour organization,
a chamber of commerce or board of trade,
a partnership, trust, association, charitable society, coalition or interest group,
a government, other than the Government of Canada, and
a corporation without share capital incorporated to pursue, without financial gain to its members, objects of a national, provincial, patriotic, religious, philanthropic, charitable, scientific, artistic, social, professional or sporting character or other similar objects.

a member of the Senate or the House of Commons and any person on the staff of such a member,
a person who is appointed to any office or body by or with the approval of the Governor in Council or a minister of the Crown, other than a judge receiving a salary under the Judges Act or the lieutenant governor of a province,
an officer, director or employee of any federal board, commission or other tribunal as defined in the Federal Courts Act,
a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, and
a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

a chief executive officer, chief operating officer or president of the corporation, or
any other officer who reports directly to the chief executive officer, chief operating officer or president of the corporation.

securities of the first-mentioned corporation to which are attached more than fifty per cent of the votes that may be cast to elect directors of the first-mentioned corporation are held, otherwise than by way of security only, directly or indirectly, whether through one or more subsidiaries or otherwise, by or for the benefit of the other corporation; and
the votes attached to those securities are sufficient, if exercised, to elect a majority of the directors of the first-mentioned corporation.

LRS Lexicon

Legislative Proposal, Bill or Resolution
Regulation
Policies or Program
Grant, Contribution or Other Financial Benefit
Government Contract Pursued (Consultant registrations only)

The individual was a designated public office holder for a short period.
The individual was a designated public office holder on an acting basis.
The individual was employed under a program of student employment;
The individual had administrative duties only.

12-Month Activity Search
Advanced Search
Recent Registrations listing
Recent Monthly Communication Reports listing
Various Lobbying Statistical Reports
Data Extract (CSV files of the complete registry)

No registration update has been certified within five months past the end of the month of the last registration filing date; and,
No Communications entry has been certified within five months past the end of the month of the last communications entry filing date.

The six-month report allows the registrant to confirm the following two items:

There have been no communications with DPOHs since the last entry; and,
The content of the registration is still valid.