Lobbyists and senior officers are expected to complete their registrations accurately, but mistakes can happen.
Our new series “Common Registration Mistakes” highlights common issues the lobbying team encounters when reviewing new and updated registrations, and provides helpful solutions.
❌ The Lobbying Activity section of a registration is unclear or incomplete.
The Act requires lobbyists and senior officers to provide a complete description of their lobbying activities.
It is important to clearly and concisely explain your lobbying goal, what policy, bill or regulation you are attempting to influence or change on behalf of your client or your employer, and who your lobbying targets will be.
The Office has a resource page that describes what information to include when completing the Lobbying Activity section of a registration.
❌ Government funding is confirmed but funding information is not provided.
Lobbyists and senior officers often select “yes” when confirming if their client or employer has received government funding, but they do not provide the specific information about the type of funding received.
You must list the source and amount of any funding your company or organization has received from any level of government during that government’s previous year. This includes grants, transfer payments and any other funding arrangement.
The Interpretation Bulletin “How do I report government funding?” describes the government funding requirements under the Act.
❌ Saving a new registration, notice of change or renewal as a draft but not submitting it.
When working on a registration, it is important to “Save as Draft” to ensure that your information is saved. However, when you have completed the form, you must make sure you select “Submit”. The “Save as Draft” feature does not submit the registration.
You can verify that you have submitted your registration by selecting “View my registrations” and checking that the status indicates “Pending”.
Learn more by watching tutorial videos on Changing or Updating a Registration and Renewing a Registration.
