Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.
I am pleased to be here today to discuss the main estimates 2014-15 for the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying. I would also like to take this opportunity to touch upon my mandate and outline a few of my priorities for this fiscal year.
I am joined today by René Leblanc, Deputy Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer.
My mandate is threefold. I must maintain a registry of lobbyists, develop and implement educational programs to foster awareness of the act, and ensure compliance with the act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct.
The 2014-15 main estimates are $4.4 million, which is essentially the same amount as last year. However, since I became commissioner in 2008, demands for more accountability and reporting have been steadily growing. In addition, cost containment measures announced in 2010 have forced my office to absorb salary increases over the last three fiscal years.
In 2011 I conducted a strategic and operating review. This review resulted in a 5% budget reduction starting in 2013-14. I minimized the impact of this reduction by postponing the development of new features in the registration system and by limiting the use of external consultants. System maintenance, however, will continue to be a priority.
The recent government announcement that operating budgets will be frozen for the next two fiscal years will further increase pressures on my ability to deliver my mandate. However, with the efficiencies I have put in place, I believe I can manage.
Of the total 2014-15 main estimates, operating expenditures, including salaries, represent $4 million. The remaining $400,000 is for the employee benefits plan, which is a statutory vote. Salaries represent about 63% of my operating budget. I have a complement of 28 employees. The remaining 37% is for non-salary spending.
The first program I would like to talk about is the registration of lobbyists. This program maintains the online, public registry of lobbyists and provides guidance and support to registrants. The registry is the primary source of information on who is lobbying federal public office holders and about which topics.
This year, my priority for the registration unit is to improve the timeliness of monthly communication reports filed by lobbyists. I believe that transparency is hindered when communications between lobbyists and designated public office holders are reported late. I intend to monitor the situation more closely and to further educate lobbyists about the requirements of the act in this regard.
The education of lobbyists, their clients, and public officer holders is also an important component of my mandate. This is how people are made aware of the act, the code, and their requirements. I believe compliance with the act and the code will be improved through increased awareness. My staff and I meet regularly with lobbyists, public office holders, parliamentarians, as well as academics to help them understand the act and the lobbyists' code of conduct. In 2013-14 we met with more than 1,000 stakeholders. I intend to continue these types of activities.
This year my priority in terms of education will relate primarily to the lobbyists' code of conduct. A consultation process with stakeholders took place between September and December of 2013. I received written submissions from a range of stakeholders, and I held a number of round tables to solicit views on the code. I plan to issue a report on the results of the consultation by the end of May.
The third component of my mandate is to ensure compliance with the act and the code. I do this through a number of compliance activities, including reviews and formal investigations.
Since becoming commissioner, I have initiated more than 100 administrative reviews. I have tabled 10 Reports on Investigation in Parliament, finding that 12 lobbyists breached the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct. I have made 11 referrals to the RCMP when I had reasonable grounds to believe that an offence had occurred.
In July of 2013, there was an historic first conviction for a breach under the Lobbying Act. An individual was fined $7,500 for failing to register his lobbying activities. The act provides me with the authority to prohibit an individual from lobbying for up to two years if convicted of an offence under the act. I decided in this case to prohibit the individual from lobbying for a period of four months.
My priority for the compliance program is to develop a more strategic approach to compliance verification. I will do this by conducting activities such as compliance audits and analyzing lobbying performed in various sectors of the economy. I also plan on improving efficiency by implementing an automated case management system to help manage compliance files.
Finally, internal services support the programs and other corporate obligations of my organization. Approximately two-thirds of the internal services expenditure is for support services secured through formal agreements with other government institutions. This strategy offers access to a broad range of expertise that I need to meet my accountabilities as deputy head.
This year I plan to implement a segregated computer network within my office. This network will not be connected to the Internet and will enhance the security of sensitive information, particularly as it relates to compliance files. This segregated network will provide an ideal platform to implement the case management system I mentioned earlier.
I want to close by saying that I am proud of the work my office has done over the last few years. I have assembled a dedicated team of professionals and I continually strive to allocate my resources in a manner that allows me to deliver my mandate as efficiently and as effectively as possible.
Mr. Chair, this concludes my remarks. I look forward to answering any questions you and the committee members may have.