Yes, we do have grassroots in our legislation, but it's a form of communication and you have to identify it if it's going to be part of the way in which you're proposing to communicate with a public office holder. We actually have a checkbox that asks if you are going to be communicating via letter or in a meeting or by embarking on grassroots lobbying.
As you know, grassroots can use any means, including ads, websites and social media. It is essentially to encourage members of the public to communicate with public office holders directly through any means, including letters, email, social media, etc.
In Ontario, merely managing grassroots communication is considered lobbying. Examples of this type of lobbying are directing a campaign, making decisions about the message of a campaign and making decisions about the techniques that would be used as part of that campaign, which, as I said, is to get members of the public to write to or communicate with a public office holder.
Administrative work and research to support a campaign are not considered part of lobbying activity in Ontario, but if a client pays a lobbyist to manage that grassroots communication, then they must register as a consultant lobbyist.
Finally, in another example, if an in-house lobbyist manages grassroots communications for their employer, the senior officer may need to register that lobbying if the 50-hour threshold is met.
That's a summary of what exists in our legislation.