ON Lobbying - a newsletter

Information & Resources for Lobbyist Registration in Ontario

Issue 21

February 2022

Notice something new?

We have a new website!

The new design still has all the resources and information lobbyists need.

Visit new site

Note: The lobbyist registry itself has not been changed and you will be able to access your account as usual.

.

Termination Tips

Not only do lobbyists have to register within the timelines set by the Lobbyists Registration Act, 1998, they also have to terminate their registrations, or remove the names of their in-house lobbyists once the lobbying activity is done.

When do I need to terminate a registration?

If you are a consultant lobbyist, you must advise the Lobbyist Registrar that you have completed or terminated an undertaking to lobby on behalf of a client within 30 calendar days. This means that if the client has stopped paying you to lobby, you must terminate your registration on the registry. (Note: If or when the client retains your services again, you must re-file your registration within 10 calendar days of when you begin to lobby on behalf of the client.)

If you are a senior officer of a business or an organization, you must remove the names of in-house lobbyists from your registration within 30 days of their ceasing to lobby. You can also terminate the registration when you no longer employ any in-house lobbyists or when the paid officers, directors or employees are no longer collectively spending 50 hours in a calendar year lobbying on behalf of the business or organization.

For more information, please see IB #10 Do I have to do anything when I am done lobbying or a lobbyist leaves my organization?

How do I submit a termination?

Login to the online lobbyists registration system, select ‘Terminate a registration’ and follow the prompts.

If you are a consultant lobbyist, you will be asked to list the date that you completed your lobbying undertaking.

If you are a senior officer, you will be asked to list the date that your business or organization no longer employed in-house lobbyists or that your employees stopped lobbying.

Why is my registration still appearing after I just terminated it?

The termination process is not immediate. Your terminated registration will go into a queue to be published by the Registrar as an inactive registration. When the terminated registration has been published, you will receive an acknowledgement email and the registration will be removed from the list of active registrations. The terminated registration will appear as an inactive registration and can still be viewed publicly.

If you are uncertain about whether the notice to terminate the registration was filed properly, please contact the Office at lobbyist.mail@oico.on.ca for verification.

What if I terminated a registration by mistake?

Send an email to lobbyist.mail@oico.on.ca right away. If the terminated registration is still in the Registrar’s queue, the terminated registration can be rejected. However, if you receive the acknowledgement email, that means that the terminated registration has been published. A published, terminated registration cannot be reactivated and you will be required to re-file the registration.

.

Three Registrars and an Election

Advice for navigating elections, gifts and compliance.

Virtual Session taking place Friday March 4, 2022 at 1:00 pm

Register Here

Presented by: The Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario, the Office of the Lobbyist Registrar, City of Toronto, and the Office of the Integrity Commissioner and Lobbyist Registrar, the City of Ottawa.

.

.

In January, the Office updated the list of public bodies in the registry that can be selected as lobbying targets. This included adding the names of newly created public bodies and removing the public bodies that no longer exist.

New public bodies:

iGaming Ontario

Ontario Land Tribunal

Temagami Forest Management Corporation

Removed public bodies:

Conservation Review Board

Environmental Review Board

Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council

Local Planning Appeal Tribunal

Mining and Lands Tribunal

Board of Negotiation (Expropriations Act)

Lobbyists and senior officers should check their registration(s) to ensure that their list(s) of public bodies are accurate.

Want more resources? Go to https://www.oico.on.ca/en/lobbyists-registration-overview

Follow us on Twitter & watch our online tutorials!