In this issue...

• A message from the Registrar
• Registry Tip: Search the public registry
• Canada's Lobbyist Registrars and Commissioners meet in Ottawa

I hope that you have found this newsletter helpful as you navigate the requirements of the Lobbyists Registration Act (LRA) and the online registration system. My Office has worked hard to choose the topics for the newsletter and provide clear information that will best assist registered lobbyists and compliance staff at lobbying or consulting firms, private companies and not-for-profit organizations.

I am pleased with the success of this outreach and education tool that now reaches more than 440 subscribers. I encourage you to share this newsletter with colleagues who are involved in lobbying in your organization.

My role as Lobbyist Registrar is to ensure that Ontario’s lobbyist registry provides transparency about who is talking to whom in government and about what. This transparency is in the public interest and is an important component of accountability and openness in government.

Lobbyists and entities that lobby the government also have a role: they must familiarize themselves with the requirements of the LRA and provide accurate and up-to-date information about their lobbying activities in their registrations.

If you are unsure about your specific requirements, I encourage you to contact my Office. Staff can point you to helpful resources and can assist if you would benefit from an Advisory Opinion. I issued 108 confidential Advisory Opinions in the last fiscal year to assist lobbyists in understanding their obligations under the LRA. Requesting such an opinion is a proactive way to avoid compliance pitfalls. You can email the Office to provide information about your specific situation and request an Advisory Opinion.

And if you have questions about information in this newsletter or have a suggested topic for a future issue, please contact us.

Thank you,

The Honourable J. David Wake

Integrity Commissioner & Lobbyist Registrar

Search the public registry!

You can check your registration(s) or find other lobbyist registrations using the Search page. You can search by key word, lobbyist’s name, company name and more!

At the bottom of the page, you can click on “Recent Active” to view a list of registrations that were created or amended in the last 30 days. The “Recent Inactive” button loads a list of registrations that were terminated in the last 30 days.

To get to the Search page from the main Lobbyists Registration page, click on the “Search” button.

Pro tip: If you have logged in to the registration system, use another web browser to search the registry. For example, if logged in using Internet Explorer, use Chrome to search the registry.

At the end of September, Lobbyist Registrars and Commissioners from around Canada met in Ottawa to discuss best practices and emerging issues for lobbyist registration requirements.

Hosted by Canada’s Commissioner of Lobbying, the Registrars and Commissioners from six provinces and two municipalities covered a wide range of topics including updates on legislative changes and registry systems.

Commissioner Wake was once again pleased to participate in this annual meeting with his counterparts and thanked federal Commissioner Nancy Bélanger for hosting a productive conference.

Photo: Lobbyist Registrars, Commissioners and their staff from across Canada met in Ottawa on September 25 and 26, 2019.

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