This Compliance Checklist was developed by the Office of the Integrity Commissioner to assist Consultant Lobbyists in Ontario to comply with the requirements of the Lobbyists Registration Act, 1998.

Initial Filing Requirements

□  The initial registration form must be submitted within 10 days of beginning an undertaking to lobby on behalf of a client.  This means you must submit a registration within 10 calendar days of your first communication with a public office holder to lobby on behalf of your client.  This includes arranging meetings between a public office holder and any other person.

 □   A separate registration is required for each client, if applicable.

Annual Confirmation of Information

□   An annual renewal confirming the information on the registration must be submitted either 30 days before or 30 days after the anniversary date of the initial filing of the registration.  You and your primary contact, if applicable, will receive email reminders to this effect.

Changes to Registration Outside of Renewal Period

□   New information or changes to a previously submitted registration must be submitted no later than 30 days after the change occurs or you acquire knowledge of the change occurring.

Completing or Terminating an Undertaking 

□   The completion or termination of a lobbying undertaking must be submitted within 30 days. The registrations do not lapse. You are required to login and terminate the registration when your lobbying activities have ended.

Prohibited Lobbying Activities

□   Certain prescribed broader public sector organizations cannot use public funds to hire consultant lobbyists under section 4 of the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, 2010.  If your client is a broader public sector organization, your client is required to sign an attestation confirming that you are not being paid with public funds.

 □   You cannot accept fees, in whole or in part, that are contingent on your degree of success in lobbying.

 □   You cannot provide advice to a public office holder while you are also lobbying any other public office holder on the same subject matter.

Conflict of Interest

□   While lobbying a public office holder, you cannot knowingly place the public office holder in a position of real or potential conflict of interest.  Section 3.4 of the Lobbyists Registration Act, 1998 defines a conflict of interest as "a public office holder is in a position of conflict of interest if he or she engages in an activity that is prohibited by section 2, 3, or 4 of subsection 6 (1) of the Members’ Integrity Act, 1994 or that would be so prohibited if the public office holder were a member of the Legislative Assembly".  This includes the use of the member’s position to further his or her private interests, the use of insider information to further a member’s private interests or a member accepting a fee, gift or personal benefit that is not connected directly or indirectly with the performance of his or her duties.

Contents of Registration

□   You are required to complete the contents of the registration in full, answering all of the questions that may apply.

Certification

□   Confirmation is required during the initial application process and before submitting the registration for review, stating that all information submitted to the registry, including subsequent registrations and changes to registrations, is true to the best of the knowledge and belief of the lobbyist submitting the information.  This includes, but is not limited to, the understanding that it is an offence to knowingly provide false or misleading information through the registry.

Verification of registration information

The Integrity Commissioner, as Lobbyists Registrar, has the authority to identify omissions and inconsistencies and verify information contained in a registration form.  The registrar may refuse to accept a new registration submitted by a lobbyist or remove an existing registration if the requested information is not provided within the prescribed timelines. 

 □   If a registration is not complete it will be refused and reset to draft.  An email will be sent to you and your primary contact, if applicable, outlining the deficiencies.  You are required to amend and resubmit the registration within the timeline provided by the registrar.

For assistance in completing a registration form, please see the Registration Checklist – Consultant Lobbyists.