The federal lobbying system : Système de lobbying à l'échelle fédérale : La Loi sur le lobbying et le Code de déontologie des lobbyistes

The term "lobbying" refers generally to any effort to communicate with legislators or other public officials against or in favour of a specific cause. Lobbying at the federal level was first governed by the Lobbyists Registration Act. It came into force in 1989 and established a registration system intended to foster the public's right to know and to be informed regarding who was trying to influence government policy in Canada. In 2008, following substantive amendments brought about by the Federal Accountability Act in 2006, the Act was renamed the Lobbying Act because the Act now seeks to regulate the activities of lobbyists rather than simply monitor them by means of a registration system. Currently, more than 5,000 lobbyists are registered to lobby federal public offices. In March 2011, prior to dissolution of the 40th Parliament, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics began the five-year mandated review of the Lobbying Act. As well, the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct, which came into force in March 1997, sets out ethical standards for lobbyists to follow in order to maintain public confidence in the "integrity, objectivity and impartiality of government decision-making." As such, it complements the disclosure and registration requirements of the Lobbying Act. Lobbyists are required to comply with the Code. This paper provides a review of the legislative history of the Lobbying Act and outlines how the Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct operate in practice. It also considers the issues raised thus far in the course of the Act's 2011 statutory review.