Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the Committee.
Chairman and Members of the Committee. I am pleased to be here today to discuss the first Annual Report of the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying. I am accompanied today by senior counsel, Bruce Bergen, and by Pierre Ricard-Desjardins, Director of Operations. Mr. Chair, I thought that for the benefit of new members, I would give a brief overview of the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct before discussing our annual report.
The Lobbying Act ensures that lobbying activities conducted at the federal level are open and transparent. It provides for the public registration of individuals who are paid to communicate with public office-holders. The purpose of the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct is to assure the Canadian public that lobbying is done ethically and with the highest standards. This in turn conserves and enhances public confidence and trust in the integrity, objectivity, and impartiality of government decision-making. The code complements the registration requirements of the Lobbying Act.
I was honoured to be appointed as the first Commissioner of Lobbying in June 2009. My goal is to build on significant progress we've made in implementing the Lobbying Act. This progress, as well as our priorities and challenges, is highlighted in the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying's first annual report.
The report, tabled in Parliament in June 2009, discusses three main areas: the lobbyist registration system; the office's education and outreach activities; and our efforts to ensure compliance with the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct.
The Lobbyists Registration System, which is often referred to as the Registry of Lobbyists, is the primary tool used by the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying to ensure transparency in lobbying activities conducted at the federal level.
The registry consists of an online database in which lobbyists disclose their lobbying activities. However, this is not simply a tool for lobbyists to register their activities. The registry is an easy-to-use, searchable database. It is visited by public office-holders, journalists, the Canadian public, and others looking for information regarding who is carrying out lobbying activities with the federal government. The registry is accessible free of charge, 24 hours a day, seven days a week via our website.
As discussed in my annual report, the Lobbying Act introduced new reporting requirements for lobbyists on July 2, 2008. This meant that we needed a major upgrade of the registry to allow for the efficient processing of a significantly larger number of transactions. Additional functions were also added to the registry to improve its usability and efficiency.
I am pleased to report that the changes required to the registry were made on time, within budget, and with no major difficulties. I am proud that our lobbyists registration system is at the forefront of electronic registration and it is considered to be a model for other jurisdictions involved in lobbying legislation.
From April 1, 2008, to March 31, 2009, the number of registered corporations and organizations increased by 7% and 10% respectively, while the number of individual in-house lobbyists contained in those registrations decreased by 17% and 9%. While it appears that there was an increase in lobbying activity, we have noticed a decrease in the number of individual in-house lobbyists registered by those corporations and organizations. We have attributed these changes to a rationalization effort on the part of corporations and organizations. The number of consultant lobbyists remained virtually unchanged during that period.
However, since April 1, 2009, we have seen a further decrease of 4.6% in the number of registrations for all categories of lobbyists, accompanied by an 18.6% reduction for the number of individuals actively involved in lobbying activities. The trend is particularly noticeable with regard to consultant lobbyists, where fewer lobbyists manage larger numbers of clients, and with regard to corporations, where fewer employees are involved in corporate lobbying activities. Although it may not be the only cause, the recent economic situation may be an important contributor to this decrease.
I should add that we have not witnessed a significant drop in overall registration activity. This is likely due to the new monthly communications reports.
The Lobbying Act provides the Commissioner of Lobbying with a clear mandate for education and outreach so that Parliamentarians, Canadians, departments and agencies, and lobbyists have a better understanding of the act.
This annual report provides details on the development and implementation of a comprehensive education and awareness strategy. We have used various means of communication, such as information sessions, online multimedia tutorials, and implementation notices, to raise awareness and build a greater understanding of the Lobbying Act.
Over the past year, presentations were made to lobbyists, public office-holders, and national and international organizations interested in Canadian federal lobbying. Meetings and briefing sessions were held with senior officials from various departments and agencies on the Lobbying Act. The office helped familiarize them with the new requirements of the act and addressed any issues regarding lobbying activities facing their departments or officials.
Although education is an important priority for me, actual enforcement of the Lobbying Act cannot be ignored. The act gives the Commissioner of Lobbying enhanced enforcement powers.
These include the extension of the period during which possible summary conviction infractions may be prosecuted, the doubling of monetary penalties available upon conviction under the act, and the fact that I may conduct investigations in order to ensure compliance with the Lobbying Act as well as the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct.
When allegations of non-compliance with the act are brought to our attention we conduct a preliminary information-gathering exercise called an administrative review. An administrative review involves searching the registry and other publicly available sources of information, as well as interviewing potential witnesses. The recommendations contained in an administrative review assist me in making my decision on whether or not there are grounds for further actions. In 2008-09, 13 administrative reviews were initiated by my office. Eight recommendation reports were sent to me for decision.
Under the Lobbying Act the commissioner may initiate a formal investigation if the commissioner has reason to believe an investigation is necessary to ensure compliance with the Lobbying Act or the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct. The act requires an investigation to be conducted in private. A report of the commissioner's findings and conclusions following the completed investigation is then tabled before both houses of Parliament.
The Lobbying Act introduced a five-year prohibition on lobbying on former designated public office-holders. The act also gives me the authority to grant exemptions to this five-year prohibition. An internal review process was developed to ensure that I have the information needed to make decisions on applications for exemption.
In June 2008-09 my office received seven applications for exemption from the five-year prohibition on lobbying. I believe that by enhancing both the awareness of the act's requirements and the nature of lobbying as an activity, compliance can be better attained. This is particularly true in the context of a recent Federal Court of Appeal decision that broadened the definition of conflict of interest referred to in the current Lobbyists' Code of Conduct to cover certain political activities performed by lobbyists, among other things.
Although educating people about the act is important, violations of the Lobbying Act and Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct have been and are still dealt with as rigorously as the Act permits.
Mr. Chair, this concludes my remarks. I hope that I have given you and members of the committee, a comprehensive overview of our annual report. Thank you for your attention and now I look forward to answering any questions that you may have.
However, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, before answering questions I would like to state that subsection 10.4(3) of the Lobbying Act instructs me to conduct investigations in private. Therefore, to respect this confidentiality I will not be confirming whether I have opened up an investigation, which I understand is different from what some of my other commissioners are able to do. Their acts permit them to at least confirm whether they have a file open on someone.
