Lobbying Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. 44 (4th Supp.))

RELATED PROVISIONS

• — 2003, c. 10, s. 14

  • Definitions

    14 The following definitions apply in sections 15 to 17.

    new Act

    new Act means the Lobbyists Registration Act as it reads on the day on which this Act comes into force. (nouvelle loi)

    old Act

    old Act means the Lobbyists Registration Act as it read immediately before the day on which this Act comes into force. (ancienne loi)

• — 2003, c. 10, s. 15

  • Requirement to file return

    • 15 (1) Subject to subsection (2), if, on the day on which this Act comes into force, an individual is engaged in an undertaking described in subsection 5(1) of the new Act, the individual shall, not later than two months after the day on which this Act comes into force, file a return with respect to the undertaking with the registrar in accordance with subsection 5(1) of the new Act.

    • Exception

      (2) An individual is deemed to have filed a return with respect to an undertaking in accordance with subsection (1) if

      • (a) the individual filed a return with respect to the undertaking in accordance with subsection 5(1) of the old Act within the five months before the day on which this Act comes into force;

      • (b) there is no change to the information provided in the return referred to in paragraph (a); and

      • (c) the individual has no knowledge of any information required to be provided under subsection 5(2) of the new Act that was not provided in the return referred to in paragraph (a).

    • Deemed date of filing

      (3) For the purpose of paragraph 5(1.1)(b) of the new Act, the day on which a return referred to in subsection (1) or paragraph (2)(a) is filed is deemed to be the date of filing a return under paragraph 5(1.1)(a) of the new Act.

• — 2003, c. 10, s. 16

  • Requirement to file return

    16 If, on the day on which this Act comes into force, a corporation employs one or more employees whose duties are as described in paragraphs 7(1)(a) and (b) of the new Act, the officer responsible for filing returns, as defined in subsection 7(6) of the new Act, shall, not later than two months after the day on which this Act comes into force, file a return with the registrar in accordance with subsection 7(1) of the new Act.

• — 2003, c. 10, s. 17

  • Requirement to file return

    • 17 (1) Subject to subsection (2), if, on the day on which this Act comes into force, an organization employs one or more employees whose duties are as described in paragraphs 7(1)(a) and (b) of the new Act, the officer responsible for filing returns, as defined in subsection 7(6) of the new Act, shall, not later than two months after the day on which this Act comes into force, file a return with the registrar in accordance with subsection 7(1) of the new Act.

    • Exception

      (2) An officer responsible for filing returns for an organization is deemed to have filed a return in accordance with subsection (1) if

      • (a) the senior officer of the organization, as defined in subsection 7(6) of the old Act, filed a return in accordance with subsection 7(1) of the old Act within the five months before the day on which this Act comes into force;

      • (b) there is no change to the information provided in the return referred to in paragraph (a); and

      • (c) the officer responsible for filing returns has no knowledge of any information required to be provided under subsection 7(3) of the new Act that was not provided in the return referred to in paragraph (a).

    • Deemed date of filing

      (3) For the purpose of paragraph 7(2)(b) of the new Act, the day on which a return referred to in subsection (1) or paragraph (2)(a) is filed is deemed to be the date of filing a return under paragraph 7(2)(a) of the new Act.

• — 2006, c. 9, s. 3.1

  • Reference to Act

    • 3.1 (1) In this section, the other Act means, before the day on which section 66 of this Act comes into force, the Lobbyists Registration Act and, from that day, the Lobbying Act.

    • Five-year prohibition — lobbying

      (2) If, on the day on which section 27 of this Act comes into force, section 10.11 of the other Act, as enacted by section 75 of this Act, is not yet in force, persons who would otherwise be bound by section 29 of the Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment Code for Public Office Holders by virtue of their office and who cease to hold that office on or after that day but before the day on which that section 10.11 comes into force, are subject to the obligations established by section 29 of that Code, despite the coming into force of section 27 of this Act.

    • Jurisdiction of registrar

      (3) The registrar referred to in section 8 of the other Act has, with respect to the persons and obligations referred to in subsection (2), the same powers, duties and functions that the Ethics Commissioner would have in relation to those persons and obligations if section 27 of this Act were not in force.

• — 2006, c. 9, s. 83

  • Reference to Act

    83 In sections 84 to 88.2 of this Act, the other Act means, before the day on which section 66 of this Act comes into force, the Lobbyists Registration Act and, from that day, the Lobbying Act.

• — 2006, c. 9, s. 84

  • Commissioner

    • 84 (1) The person who holds the office of registrar immediately before the day on which section 68 of this Act comes into force is authorized to act as the Commissioner of Lobbying under the other Act until the appointment of a Commissioner under subsection 4.1(1) of the other Act — or of a person under subsection 4.1(4) of the other Act — as enacted by section 68 of this Act.

    • Employees

      (2) The coming into force of section 68 of this Act does not affect the status of an employee — as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Public Service Employment Act — who occupied, immediately before the day on which that section 68 comes into force, a position in the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists, except that the employee from that day occupies that position in the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying.

• — 2006, c. 9, s. 85

  • Pending investigations

    85 Any investigation by the registrar under the other Act that is pending immediately before the day on which section 77 of this Act comes into force may continue to be conducted by the Commissioner of Lobbying under the other Act.

• — 2006, c. 9, s. 86

  • Transfer of appropriations

    86 Any amount that is appropriated, for the fiscal year in which section 71 of this Act comes into force, by an appropriation Act based on the Estimates for that year for defraying the charges and expenses of the federal public administration for the former registrar designated under section 8 of the other Act, as it read before the day on which that section 71 comes into force, and that, on that day, is unexpended is deemed, on that day, to be an amount appropriated for defraying the charges and expenses of the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying under the administration of the Commissioner of Lobbying referred to in subsection 4.1(1) of the other Act, as enacted by section 68 of this Act.

• — 2006, c. 9, s. 87

  • Contingent payments

    87 Section 10.1 of the other Act, as enacted by section 75 of this Act, does not apply with respect to any contingent payment that, on the day on which that section 75 comes into force,

    • (a) was mentioned in a return in accordance with paragraph 5(2)(g) of the other Act as it read before the day on which subsection 69(2) of this Act comes into force; or

    • (b) was provided for in an undertaking entered into before the day on which that section 75 comes into force but for which a return was neither filed nor yet required, under subsection 5(1.1) of the other Act as it read before the day on which subsection 69(1) of this Act comes into force, to be filed.

• — 2006, c. 9, s. 88

  • Former designated public office holders

    • 88 (1) For greater certainty, section 10.11 of the other Act, as enacted by section 75 of this Act, does not apply with respect to any ceasing to hold office or to be employed that is referred to in that section 10.11 and that occurred before the day on which that section 75 comes into force.

    • Assistant deputy ministers

      (2) Section 10.11 of the other Act, as enacted by section 75 of this Act, also does not apply in respect of any ceasing to be a designated public office holder with the rank of assistant deputy minister or any office of equivalent rank that occurs during the six months after the day on which that section 75 comes into force.

• — 2006, c. 9, s. 88.1

  • Five-year prohibition — lobbying

    • 88.1 (1) No individual who was a member of a transition team who ceased to carry out his or her functions as a transition team member after January 24, 2006 but before the coming into force of section 10.11 of the other Act, as enacted by section 75 of this Act, shall, during a period of five years after the day on which he or she ceased to carry out those functions

      • (a) carry on any of the activities referred to in paragraph 5(1)(a) or (b) of the other Act in the circumstances referred to in subsection 5(1) of the other Act;

      • (b) if the individual is employed by an organization, carry on any of the activities referred to in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the other Act on behalf of that organization; and

      • (c) if the individual is employed by a corporation, carry on any of the activities referred to in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the other Act on behalf of that corporation if carrying on those activities would constitute a significant part of the individual’s work on its behalf.

    • Exception

      (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a member of a transition team in respect of any activities referred to in that subsection that were carried out before the day on which this Act is assented to.

    • Contravention

      (3) Every individual who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000.

    • Limitation

      (4) Proceedings by way of summary conviction in respect of an offence under this section may be instituted at any time within but not later than five years after the day on which the registrar referred to in section 8 of the other Act became aware of the subject-matter of the proceedings but, in any case, not later than ten years after the day on which the subject-matter of the proceedings arose.

    • Definition

      (5) For the purposes of this section, members of a transition team are those persons identified by the Prime Minister as having had the task of providing support and advice to him or her during the transition period leading up to the swearing in of the Prime Minister and his or her ministry.

• — 2006, c. 9, s. 88.11

  • Application for exemption

    • 88.11 (1) Any member of a transition team referred to in section 88.1 may apply to the Commissioner of Lobbying for an exemption from that section.

    • Commissioner of Lobbying may exempt

      (2) The Commissioner of Lobbying may, on any conditions that the Commissioner of Lobbying specifies, exempt the member from the application of section 88.1 having regard to any circumstance or factor that the Commissioner of Lobbying considers relevant, including the following:

      • (a) the circumstances under which the member left the functions referred to in subsection 88.1(5);

      • (b) the nature, and significance to the Government of Canada, of information that the member possessed by virtue of the functions referred to in subsection 88.1(5);

      • (c) the degree to which the member’s new employer might gain unfair commercial advantage by hiring the member;

      • (d) the authority and influence that the member possessed while having the functions referred to in subsection 88.1(5); and

      • (e) the disposition of other cases.

    • Publication

      (3) The Commissioner of Lobbying shall without delay cause every exemption and the Commissioner of Lobbying’s reasons for it to be made available to the public.

    • Audit

      (4) The Commissioner of Lobbying may verify the information contained in any application under subsection (1).

• — 2006, c. 9, s. 88.2

  • Publication

    88.2 The registrar referred to in section 8 of the other Act may make public the nature of an offence committed under section 88.1, the name of the person who committed it and the punishment imposed.