In this issue...

• Quick survey
• Tips for Requesting an Advisory Opinion
• Changes to ministry names & your responsibilities
• Registry Tip: New Senior Officer

Please answer our one question survey!

You can find all these resources on our website!

Tips for Requesting an Advisory Opinion

The Office welcomes requests for advisory opinions about the requirements in the Lobbyists Registration Act, 1998, which are provided by the Integrity Commissioner, as Lobbyist Registrar. In fact, the Registrar provided 108 written opinions in the last fiscal year. The most common questions were about political activity, offering gifts to public servants, and registration requirements for different types of lobbyists.

Getting an advisory opinion is a good way to ensure you are in compliance with the requirements of the Act.

Here are some tips when asking for an opinion:

• The question(s) must be in writing – email is fine.

• Your request must be based on a real and current situation. Advice is not provided for general or hypothetical matters or for matters that have already occurred.

• An advisory opinion cannot be provided to an individual regarding the obligations of another individual. If your request is on behalf of a client, please ask your client to send us an email authorizing the request. Alternatively, your client can make the request for an opinion directly to the Office.

• Include all the relevant details. Be specific. Who is being lobbied, what is the issue, when is the event taking place, etc. If the Office needs to get back to you to ask for more information or clarify the situation, it will take longer to prepare the opinion.

• Give us as much time as you can. We will work to deadline, but the Registrar appreciates a bit of time to consider your question properly and prepare his response.

You can send your request for an advisory opinion to lobbyist.mail@oico.on.ca.

All consultant lobbyists and senior officers are responsible for updating their active registration(s) to reflect any changes to the names of ministries and/or Ministers' offices they are lobbying.

For example, the name of the Ministry of Labour was recently changed. If you are lobbying employees at the Ministry of Labour, you must log in to your registration and select the new ministry name - the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development. This change does not happen automatically. Contact the Office if you require assistance.

Here is a list of recent changes to ministry names in Ontario:

When a ministry name changes, so does the title of a minister, so you should check the Ministers’ Offices columns in your registration as well to make sure they are accurate. To update a registration, select “Change an existing registration (not a renewal)” from the menu after you login.

New Senior Officer?

In-house lobbyists: Do you have a new senior officer* at your organization or company?

To change the name of the senior officer, select the “Change name of senior officer” option after you login to the senior officer’s account. This change cannot be made with the “Change an existing registration” option. Please contact the Office if you require assistance.

Remember that you have 30 days to update the name of the senior officer. If you currently have an interim CEO or Executive Director, you should still update your profile with this person’s name.

We have a video tutorial on how to change the senior officer.

Video Tutorials

* The senior officer is the most senior level person of an entity who is paid for the performance of his or her duties.

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