Application of the Act - Annual Report 1989-1990

For the year ended March 31, 1990.

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Annual Report [PDF Format, 1 335Kb]

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Table of Content

1. Purpose and Description of the Act
2. Start-up Activities
3. Ongoing Administraction
4. Statistical Review
5. Compliance
6. Information Requests of the Registry

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June 29th, 1990

The Honourable Pierre Blais, P.C., M.P.
Registrar General of Canada
House of Commons, Room 448
Confederation Building
Ottawa, Ontario
K1AOA6

Dear Sir:

I have the honour to present to you the Annual Report on the administration of the Lobbyists Registration Act in accordance with the provisions of subsection 11(1) of the Act. The report covers the fiscal year ending March 31, 1990.

Yours sincerely,

Henri Denolf
Acting Registrar

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This is the first Annual Report on the administration of the Lobbyists Registration Act (S.C. 1988, Chapter 53) which was proclaimed in force on September 30, 1989. This report covers the period from the date of proclamation to the end of the fiscal year, March 31, 1990.

1. Purpose and Description of the Act

The purpose of the Lobbyists Registration Act, as recited in its preamble, is to bring transparency to the activities of paid lobbyists without impeding free and open access to government. The Act accomplishes this purpose by requiring that individuals who, for pay, engage in certain lobbying activities, register so that the public, as well as those holding public office, can be aware of who they are and on whose behalf they are lobbying.

The Act distinguishes between two types of lobbyists: Tier I and Tier II. A Tier I lobbyist is an individual who, for payment and on behalf of a client, undertakes to arrange a meeting with a public office holder or to communicate with a public office holder in an attempt to influence the development, making or amendment of any federal law, regulation, policy or program or the award of any federal monetary grant or the award of any federal contract. Public office holder means any officer or employee of Her Majesty in right of Canada and includes virtually everyone occupying a position in the federal government.

Tier I lobbyists (sometimes referred to as "professional lobbyists") must lie one registration for each of their undertakings to lobby on behalf of a client. These lobbyists are required to disclose their clients and the subject-matter of the undertaking, and if the client is a corporation, the parents and subsidiaries of that corporation. Tier I lobbyists must register within 10 days of commencing their lobbying activity on behalf of a client.

A Tier II lobbyist is an individual who, on behalf of an employer, communicates as a significant part of his or her duties with a public office holder in an attempt to influence the same type of activities as apply to a Tier I lobbyist, except for the awarding of contracts.

Tier II lobbyists (sometimes referred to as "employee lobbyists") are required to register annually, providing their name and the name and address of their employer. These lobbyists must register within two months of assuming their duties and renew their registration before the end of February each year.

The Lobbyists Registration Regulations set out the manner and form of the returns to be lied and the applicable fees for services provided by the Registry of Lobbyists. Registration forms for Tier I and Tier II lobbyists are reproduced in the Annex [PDF Format, 438Kb].

Under subsection 9(1) of the Lobbyists Registration Act, responsibility for administration of the Act is assigned to a registrar who is appointed by the Registrar General of canada and who is required to establish and maintain the Registry of Lobbyists. section 11 of the Act provides that, within three months after the end of each fiscal year, the registrar must prepare and submit to the Registrar General of canada a report on the administration of the Act. The Registrar General, in turn, is required to submit a copy of the Annual Report to each House of Parliament.

2. Start-up Activities

The Registry of Lobbyists was established in September 1989 and, for administrative purposes, was situated within the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs as the Lobbyists Registration Branch.

For 1989-90, the Lobbyists Registration Branch had an indeterminate person-year allocation of four person-years. Abudget of $467 000 was authorized for salaries, operating expenditures and the acquisition and development of a computer system. In addition, during 1989-90, the Branch required three temporary person-years to carry out the activities necessary to establish the Registry.

The first task of the Lobbyists Registration Branch was the preparation of regulations under the Act. Simultaneously with the drafting of the regulations, the Registry itself needed to be developed. Procedures were developed for processing and verification of registrations by Branch personnel. A computer system that stores optically-scanned images of registration forms was acquired. This allows users to carry out searches of all information in the Registry database, to view individual registration returns on computer terminals, and to print copies of these documents. The Registry system was designed to allow the public to perform all of these functions with little or no assistance from Branch personnel.

Shortly after passage of the Lobbyists Registration Act by Parliament, Branch staff embarked on an extensive public information program aimed at ensuring maximum compliance with the law. An information booklet was prepared, covering the basic requirements of the legislation, explaining how the registration system would operate and answering questions on the application of the Act. This booklet and a copy of the Act were mailed to firms and organizations that had approached the Government for information about the program or that were identified as possibly employing persons who would be required to register under the Act. Aleaflet was also designed for distribution through government offices.

Interviews were given to media and over two dozen presentations were made to professional and trade associations and federal government officials.

To inform public office holders about the requirements of the Act and the operation of the Registry, letters were sent to federal cabinet ministers and members of Parliament, federal deputy ministers and senior public servants, and federal Governor in Council appointees.

3. Ongoing Administration

Branch staff perform a variety of tasks as part of the ongoing administration of the Lobbyists Registry. All registration returns are reviewed for completeness and accuracy. When problems are found, staff contact the registrant by telephone or letter to obtain the required information. The information from each return is entered into the Registry's computer database and the completed registration form itself is optically scanned. Staff provide information regarding the legislative requirements, maintain the Registry systems, and assist members of the public and public office holders to obtain information from the Registry.

4. Statistical Review

Registrations

Within 10 days of the september 30, 1989 opening, the Registry had received 829 Tier I registration forms. By November 30, 1989, 1 709 Tier II registrations had been filed. Atotal of 6 221 registration forms had been processed by the fiscal year end. Table 1 provides summary information about the returns processed.

Table 1: Registration Information (as of March 31, 1990)

Registrations Processed:
	Tier I	2 099
	Tier II	4 122
	Total	6 211
Registrations Active on March 31
	Tier I	473
	Tier II	2 355
	Total	2 828

Subject-Matter of Tier I Lobbying Undertakings

Tier I lobbyists are required to disclose the subject-matter of their lobbying undertakings. The registration form lists 52 general subject-matter categories. Table 2 provides a ranking of the various subject areas and indicates the frequency with which each was identified in the Tier I registrations filed between September 30, 1989 and March 31, 1990.

Table 2: Frequency of Tier I Subject-Matter Areas of Concern (as of March 31, 1990)

Rank	Area of Cencern	Frequency	Rank	Area of Concern	Frequency
1	International Trade	2 095	27	Fiscal & Monetary Policy	624
2	Reg. Ee. Development	2 042	28	Labour	582
3	Industry	2 022	29	Agriculture	542
4	Govt. Procurement	1 952	30	Youth Issues	542
5	Science & Technology	1 45	31	Post-Sec. Education	527
6	Corporate Affairs	1 667	32	Social Policy	520
7	Investment	1 504	33	Social Policy	516
8	Consumer Issues	1 501	34	Natural Resources	497
9	Transportation	1 483	35	Women's Issues	472
10	Environment	1 387	36	Postal Services	420
11	Fed.-Prov. Relations	1 363	37	Immigration	419
12	Taxation	1 328	38	Arts & Culture	388
13	Communications	1 328	39	Aboriginal Affairs	310
14	Defence	1 167	40	Forestry	290
15	Employment	1 068	41	Mining	261
16	Foreign Affairs	1 039	42	Housing	251
17	Intellectual Property	1 000	43	Administration of Justice	214
18	Health	973	44	Criminal Law	214
19	Public Works	840	45	Citizenship	200
20	Financial Institutions	809	46	Senior·Citizen Issues	155
21	Small Business	753	47	Other	139
22	Energy	750	48	Veterans Affairs	118
23	Privatization	749	49	Amateur Sports	103
24	Int'l Development	724	50	Human Rights	67
25	Fisheries & Oceans	635	51	Parole Penitentiaries	45
26	Public Safety	632	52	Multicultutalism	22

Types of Tier I Lobbying Activities

Tier I lobbyists are also required to disclose the type of lobbying activity involved. Seven categories are identified on the registration form. Table 3 shows the frequency with which each category was identified in registrations filed between September 30, 1989 and March 31, 1990.

Table 3: Frequency of Tier I Lobbying Activities (as of March 31, 1990)

Type of Subject-Matter Activity	Frequency
Communicating with a public office holder in an attempt to influence the development or amendment of a policy or program of the Government of Canada	10 260
Communicating with.a public office holder in an attempt to influence the making or amending.of any regulation within the meaning of the Statutory Instruments Act	7 966
Communicating with a public office holder in an attempt to influence the awarding of any contract by or on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada	5 599
Communicating with a public office holder in an attempt to influence the awarding 5 164 of any monetary grant or contribution of any other financial benefit by of on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada	5 164
Arranging a meeting with a public office holde	4 891
Communicating with a public office holder in an attempt to influence the development of a legislative proposal by the Government of canada or by a member of the Senate or the House of Commons	4 048
Communicating with a public office holder in an attempt to influence the introduction, passage, defeat or amendment of any Bill or resolution before either House of Parliament	2 952

5. Compliance

For the period covered by this report, compliance by the lobbyist community with the registration requirements of the Act appears to have been excellent. Neither the registrar nor the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the principal enforcement authority for the law, has received any complaints respecting the failure to fIle a return or the fIling of false or misleading returns. Where returns have been identified or reported as being deficient, the Registry staff have initiated appropriate action to correct the observed deficiency.

6. Information Requests of the Registry

In the period shortly before and after the opening of the Registry, some 1,200 telephone calls were received for information about the program. There were 51 visitors and 85 telephone caIls requesting information about lobbyists. Aprivate weekly publication reports every registration, thus supplementing the information services offered by the Lobbyists Registration Branch.

Branch revenues, mostly from copies of documents and registry reports, amounted to $6 665.25 for the period ending March 31, 1990.

The Registry is open for public inspection Monday to Friday, except holidays, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. It is located at:

Consumer and Corporate Affairs Canada
Place du Portage, Phase II, 4th floor
165 Hôtel-de-Ville Street
Hull, Quebec
KIA OC9
Tel.: 819-953-7144