Lobbying: The rules you need to follow

You may have asked yourself the question: what exactly is lobbying? According to the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada, lobbying is a legitimate activity that involves communicating with designated public office holders (DPOHs) for payment with regard to:

• the making, developing or amending of federal legislative proposals, bills or resolutions, regulations, policies or programs;
• the awarding of federal grants, contributions or other financial benefits; and
• in the case of consultant lobbyists, the awarding of a federal government contract and arranging a meeting between their client and a public office holder.

DPOHs are ministers, ministers of state; all exempt staff; senior executives (for example, Deputy Minister, Deputy Head, Chief Executive Officer or other equivalents); Associate Deputy Ministers or comparable rank; and Assistant Deputy Ministers or comparable rank. Lobbyists might contact DPOHs on a variety of subjects that our department is responsible for such as legislation and regulation changes to the process for Grants and Contributions. If you are contacted by a lobbyist, you should refer them to the DPOH responsible for your branch or region (at ESDC, your Assistant Deputy Minister).

The Office of Values and Ethics has outlined some good practices for DPOHs to be mindful of when speaking to a lobbyist or lobbying firm:

• It is strongly recommended that meetings with lobbyists be conducted in government facilities whenever possible. If not, it is advised that you cover your own expenses (i.e. meals, beverages, transportation).
• As an ESDC employee, it is recommended that you be aware of the concept of preferential treatment and confidentiality obligations. This is specifically relevant when you know the lobbyists (i.e. ex-colleagues, ex-stakeholders).
• In advance, ensure that the lobbyists are registered and the lobbying activities they are involved in are listed in their registry (i.e. topics and subject matters). This can be done by visiting the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying public registry.
• ESDC DPOHs are to confirm their designated status to lobbyists as per the Lobbying Act. This helps lobbyists in determining whether they are to report their communications. Only oral and arranged communications with DPOHs are required to be reported (i.e. in-person, videoconference, teleconference), and this within the 15 days following the end of the month when the communication occurred.
• One last, but important, good practice: ESDC DPOHs should keep all the records of their oral and arranged communications with lobbyists (i.e. agenda, minutes, attendees, discussed topics). This is particularly recommended when they are part of an investigation conducted by the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying.

You can contact the Office of Values and Ethics directly if you have any questions or concerns with regards to lobbying. They can be reached by submitting a ticket with the Human Resources Service Centre.