Info Source
General information
Introduction to Info Source
Info Source describes the programs and activities, and the information holdings related to programs and activities, of government institutions subject to the Access to Information Act to facilitate the right of access. It also provides individuals, including current and former employees of the Government of Canada, with relevant information to access personal information about themselves held by government institutions subject to the Privacy Act and to exercise their rights under the Privacy Act.
An index of institutions that are subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act is available centrally.
The Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act assign overall responsibility to the President of Treasury Board (as the designated Minister) for the government-wide administration of the legislation.
Background
The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying (OCL) and the position of Commissioner of Lobbying replaced the Office the Registrar of Lobbyists and the Registrar of Lobbyists when the Federal Accountability Act (FedAA) came into effect on July 2, 2008. The Lobbyists Registration Act was also renamed the Lobbying Act.
The federal lobbying regime sets requirements and standards for the transparent and ethical lobbying of federal officials.
The Commissioner is independent from government and reports directly to Parliament.
Responsibilities
The Commissioner, with the support of the Office, administers the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct.
Primary responsibilities include:
- maintaining and enhancing the Registry of Lobbyists
- expanding awareness and understanding of the lobbying regime and compliance obligations through education
- conducting compliance work that supports respect of federal lobbying requirements
The Commissioner issues advisory opinions and interpretation bulletins pertaining to the Lobbying Act. The Commissioner has the authority to investigate alleged breaches of the Act and the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct and to issue reports to Parliament.
The Commissioner also reviews applications for exemptions to the five-year prohibition on lobbying for former DPOHs and publishes the names of those who are granted exemptions, as well as the reasons and any conditions for the exemptions.
Institutional functions, programs and activities
Institution-specific content
Education and outreach
The OCL undertakes research to inform the development and delivery of its education and outreach products and activities. Outreach activities raise awareness about the requirements of the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct. Outreach audiences include lobbyists, their clients, public office holders and Canadian residents.
Advisory opinions and interpretation bulletins
Description: Official information provided by the Commissioner of Lobbying to help registrants understand the application of the Act and/or the Code, such as Registry of Lobbyists, legislation, regulations, policies, procedures, administration and studies.
Document types: Policy documents regarding the interpretation of the Lobbying Act and Regulations
Disclosure summaries: No disclosure has occurred.
Record number: OCL EDAR 010
Lobbyists' Code of Conduct
Description: Information on the rules of ethics governing lobbyists such as integrity and honesty, openness, professionalism, transparency, confidentiality and conflict of interest.
Document types: Lobbyists' Code of Conduct
Disclosure summaries: No disclosure has occurred.
Record number: OCL EDAR 025
Policies, standards and practices
Description: Planning, descriptive and analytical material pertaining to the registration, monitoring, investigation and reporting responsibilities of the Commissioner of Lobbying. Miscellaneous subjects directly related to the Commissioner of Lobbying statutory and executive functions.
Document types: Information concerning the daily administration of the OCL, including records of decisions, reports and committee recommendations
Disclosure summaries: No disclosure has occurred.
Record number: OCL EDAR 035
National and international issues
Description: Provincial and international lobbyist registration regimes. Information concerning Canadian and international lobbying registration regimes and lobbying issues.
Document types: Information relating to disclosure requirements, best practices, ethics, conflict of interest and other related issues.
Disclosure summaries: No disclosure has occurred.
Record number: OCL EDAR 030
Registry of Lobbyists
The OCL maintains an online registry that makes information about Lobbying Activities public, including which DPOHs were lobbied and on what subjects. The Registry is easy to use, searchable and downloadable. The OCL reviews and approves lobbyists' registrations. It also provides advice and technical support related to the Registry, the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct.
Registration
Description: Information concerning the registration of lobbyists.
Document types: Completed electronic registration forms of lobbyists, information systems, legislation, regulation, policies and procedures, administration and studies.
Disclosure summaries: No disclosure has occurred.
Record number: OCL ROL 005
Lobbyist registry — Personal information bank
Description: The database contains the names of registrants and individual lobbyists carrying out Lobbying Activities, as well as the names, business addresses, business email addresses and telephone numbers of their firms (consultant lobbyists), and employers (in-house corporation and organization lobbyists). It also contains the names of the government institution(s) they are communicating with, as well as the subject matter of the Lobbying Activities they are required to report under the Act and the Lobbyists Registration Regulations. In the case of former public office holders, the database contains information related to past positions they occupied within the federal government. The Registry was modified in July of 2008, in accordance with the Act, to accommodate and include prescribed information regarding lobbyists' communications with DPOHs. Additionally, the Registry includes information regarding the five-year prohibition on lobbying by former DPOHs, as well as effective dates, exemptions and other relevant data.
Class of individuals: Registrants, lobbyists, clients, employers.
Purpose: The information is collected in the Registry of Lobbyists for publication on the OCL's website pursuant to the reporting requirements of the Act and Regulations.
Consistent uses: The information submitted pursuant to the Act and Regulations is maintained in an electronic database accessible to the public in the Registry of Lobbyists available on the OCL's website. The data submitted by registrants are subject to review and verification and may be audited for accuracy. The OCL also has administrative paper files on each registration, containing the signed electronic agreements of registrants and other transactional documents.
Retention and disposal standards: Records are retained for a period of 20 years after files are closed. They are then transferred to Library and Archives Canada as Information Resources of Enduring Value (records of archival or historical value).
RDA number: 2012/006
Related record number: OCL ROL 005
TBS registration: 009943
Bank number: OCL PPU 039
Designated public office holder regulations
Description: Regulations to identify which public office holder positions are designated and are subject to the five-year prohibition on lobbying once they leave public office and with whom oral and arranged communications must be reported monthly by lobbyists.
Document types: Legislative regulations
Disclosure summaries: No disclosure has occurred.
Record number: OCL ROL 010
Guides to registration
Description: Information for registrants and lobbyists concerning the procedures to follow with respect to the registration of lobbyists.
Document types: Registration of lobbyists, information systems, forms, legislation, regulations, policies, procedures and administration.
Disclosure summaries: No disclosure has occurred.
Record number: OCL ROL 020
Lobbyists registration regulations
Description: Regulations affecting the filing of disclosures and returns with respect to the registration of lobbyists, such as: deadline dates for filing returns, content of returns, completion or termination of undertakings, changes to the information provided in returns, disclosures, amendments, changes, terminations and clarification of information.
Document types: Regulations, legislation on the Registry of Lobbyists.
Disclosure summaries: No disclosure has occurred.
Record number: OCL ROL 035
Compliance and enforcement
The OCL conducts monitoring and compliance verification activities to ensure that registrable Lobbying Activity is properly reported, and that the information provided by lobbyists is thorough, accurate and complete. Suspected and alleged non-compliances with the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct are reviewed and, where appropriate, formal investigations are undertaken to ensure that Lobbying Activities are ethical and transparent. The Commissioner reports findings and conclusions in Reports on Investigation submitted for tabling in Parliament. The OCL also reviews applications for exemption from the five-year post-employment prohibition on lobbying to ensure that exemptions are granted only when it is consistent with the purposes of the Act.
Performance is measured by indicators such as the number of preliminary assessment and investigations opened and closed, and the length of time to review an exemption request to the five-year prohibition on lobbying for former DPOHs.
Compliance
Description: Information concerning compliance verification activities, preliminary assessments and investigations of alleged breaches of the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct and/or the Lobbying Act and information on requests for exemptions from the five-year prohibition on lobbying by former DPOHs.
Document types: Paper or electronic versions of reports, correspondence and memoranda as well as information obtained during interviews, requests for information and research of publicly available records.
Disclosure summaries: No disclosure has occurred.
Record number: OCL RAIN 040
Preliminary assessments and investigations — Personal information bank
Description: This bank describes personal information used to administer the compliance and enforcement program. Some personal information pertains to alleged breaches of the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct and/or the Lobbying Act. Personal information may also relate to compliance verification activities, such as verifications of the accuracy of monthly communication reports submitted by registrants concerning oral and arranged communications with DPOHs; and reviews of applications received for exemptions to the five-year prohibition on lobbying. Such personal information may include names, contact information, biographical information, registrants' identification numbers, complaints or inquiries from individuals, contracts, signed affidavits and other evidence, correspondence, notes related to interviews with the subject under investigation, or various witness statements. Other information may include copies of media articles, research findings and recommendations.
Class of individuals: General public, registrants, lobbyists, clients, employers, current and former public office holders, including DPOHs.
Purpose: Personal information is used to administer the compliance and enforcement program activity and to determine eligibility for exemptions to the five-year prohibition on lobbying. Personal information is collected pursuant to the Lobbying Act, the Lobbyists Registration Regulations and the DPOH Regulations. The information collected related to persons under a preliminary assessment or investigation or who request an exemption to the five-year prohibition on lobbying is subject to verification by authorized personnel of the Investigations and Corporate Services Directorate.
Consistent uses: Information may be used or disclosed for the following purposes: enforcement of the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct or the Lobbying Act, monitoring and verification of compliance by registrants and evaluation of information submitted by former DPOHs to assess their eligibility for an exemption to the five-year prohibition on lobbying. Once an investigation under the Code is complete, the results are submitted in individual reports to both Houses of Parliament. Subsequent to tabling, each of these reports are published on the OCL's website. The names of former DPOHs who receive an exemption from the five-year prohibition on lobbying, as well as the reasons for the decisions, are also published on the OCL's website. In accordance with the Act, all preliminary assessment and investigations are conducted in private, and therefore the OCL will not confirm or deny whether a preliminary assessment or an investigation concerning a particular individual is under way and will not disclose any information until the results of the investigation is made public.
Notes: Files may be referred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) if the Commissioner of Lobbying believes on reasonable grounds that an offence under the Act, or any other applicable legislation may have occurred. Once the file is transferred, the Commissioner must suspend the investigation. The files are held by the RCMP in Operational Case Records in PIB RCMP PPU 005. Should the file be returned to the OCL, the investigation may resume under the Code.
Retention and disposal standards: Records are retained for a period of 25 years after the files are closed. They are then transferred to Library and Archives Canada as Information Resources of Enduring Value (records of archival or historical value).
RDA number: 2012/006
Related record number: OCL RAIN 040
TBS registration: 20110256
Bank number: OCL PPU 040
Notes: Personal information described in this bank is held in the OCL's electronic case management system database, as well as in paper files. While a preliminary assessment or investigation is underway, the personal information and information related to the investigation process in each file is protected from disclosure under the Lobbying Act.
Internal services
Internal services constitute groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. These groups are management and oversight services, communications services, legal services, human resources management services, financial management services, information management services, information technology services, real property services, materiel services, acquisition services, and travel and other administrative services. Internal services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization and not to those provided specifically to a program.
Acquisition services
Acquisition services involve activities undertaken to acquire a good or service to fulfill a properly completed request (including a complete and accurate definition of requirements and certification that funds are available) until entering into or amending a contract.
Communication services
Communications services involve activities undertaken to ensure that Government of Canada communications are effectively managed, well coordinated and responsive to the diverse information needs of the public. The communications management function ensures that the public—internal or external—receives government information, and that the views and concerns of the public are taken into account in the planning, management and evaluation of policies, programs, services and initiatives.
Financial management services
Financial management services involve activities undertaken to ensure the prudent use of public resources, including planning, budgeting, accounting, reporting, control and oversight, analysis, decision support and advice, and financial systems.
Human resources management services
Human resources management services involve activities undertaken for determining strategic direction, allocating resources among services and processes, as well as activities relating to analyzing exposure to risk and determining appropriate countermeasures. They ensure that the service operations and programs of the federal government comply with applicable laws, regulations, policies and plans.
- Awards (Pride and Recognition) Class of Record
- Classification of Positions Class of Record
- Compensation and Benefits Class of Record
- Employment Equity and Diversity Class of Record
- Hospitality Class of Record
- Human Resources Planning Class of Record
- Labour Relations Class of Record
- Occupational Health and Safety Class of Record
- Official Languages Class of Record
- Performance Management Reviews Class of Record
- Recruitment and Staffing Class of Record
- Applications for Employment Personal Information Bank
- Employee Personnel Record Personal Information Bank
- EX Talent Management Personal Information Bank
- Personnel Security Screening Personal Information Bank
- Staffing Personal Information Bank
- Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector and Organizational Code(s) of Conduct Personal Information Bank
- Relocation Class of Record
- Training and Development Class of Record
Information management services
Information management services involve activities undertaken to achieve efficient and effective information management to support program and service delivery; foster informed decision making; facilitate accountability, transparency and collaboration; and preserve and ensure access to information and records for the benefit of present and future generations.
- Access to Information and Privacy Class of Record
- Information Management Class of Record
- Internal Audit and Evaluation Class of Record
Information technology services
Information technology services involve activities undertaken to achieve efficient and effective use of information technology to support government priorities and program delivery, to increase productivity, and to enhance services to the public.
Legal services
Legal services involve activities undertaken to enable government departments and agencies to pursue policy, program and service delivery priorities and objectives within a legally sound framework.
Management and oversight services
Management and oversight services involve activities undertaken for determining strategic direction and allocating resources among services and processes, as well as those activities related to analyzing exposure to risk and determining appropriate countermeasures. They ensure that the service operations and programs of the federal government comply with applicable laws, regulations, policies or plans.
- Cooperation and Liaison Class of Record
- Executive Services Class of Record
- Internal Audit and Evaluation Class of Record
- Planning and Reporting Class of Record
Materiel services
Materiel services involve activities undertaken to ensure that materiel can be managed by departments in a sustainable and financially responsible manner that supports the cost-effective and efficient delivery of government programs.
Real property services
Real property services involve activities undertaken to ensure that real property is managed in a sustainable and financially responsible manner, throughout its life cycle, to support the cost-effective and efficient delivery of government programs.
Travel and other administrative services
Travel and other administrative services include Government of Canada travel services, as well as those other internal services that do not fit with any of the other internal services categories.
- Administrative Services Class of Record
- Boards, Committees and Council Class of Record
- Business Continuity Planning Class of Record
- Disclosure to Investigative Bodies Class of Record
- Proactive Disclosure Class of Record
- Security Class of Record
- Disclosure of Wrongdoing in the Workplace Personal Information Bank
- Identification Cards and Access Badges Personal Information Bank
- Personnel Security Screening Personal Information Bank
- Security Incidents and Privacy Breaches Personal Information Bank
- Security Video Surveillance and Temporary Visitor Access Control Logs and Access Badges Personal Information Bank
- Travel Class of Record
Classes of personal information
The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying receives calls and correspondence on suspected breaches of the Lobbying Act and Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct. This information may not be disclosed as information pertaining to an investigation is confidential.
Correspondence is also received by individuals seeking clarification or information on the lobbying regime. This information is retained for quality assurance and trend analysis purposes. The information can be retrieved by the name of the individual requesting the information or by date of receipt and subject matter.
Manuals
- Compliance Directorate Procedures Manual (March 2023)
Additional information
Access to information or personal information requests
For general information about making a request for access to information or personal information, see Make an access to information or personal information request.
To make a request for information online, access the Access to Information and Personal Information Online Request Service.
To make a request for information under the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act by mail, mail your letter or completed Access to Information Request Form (Access to Information Act) or Personal Information Request Form (Privacy Act), along with any necessary documents to the following address:
Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying
François Bertrand, ATIP Coordinator
410 Laurier Avenue West, 8th floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 1B7
Telephone: 613-957-2760
Facsimile: 613-957-3078
atip-aiprp@lobbycanada.gc.ca
Reading room
In accordance with the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, an area on the premises will be made available to review original materials on site if that is the applicant’s preference (and it is practical to do so), or if it is not practical to create copies of the material.
Informal requests and completed access to information requests
The Government of Canada encourages the release of information through requests outside of the formal request processes. To make an informal request, contact:
Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying
410 Laurier Avenue West, 8th floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 1B7
atip-aiprp@lobbycanada.gc.ca
Telephone: 613-957-2760
lobbycanada.gc.ca
Information about the programs and activities of the OCL is available on our website.
You may also wish to search summaries of completed access to information requests for which the OCL has already provided responses, as this information may be more easily obtained.
Privacy impact assessments
The OCL conducts privacy impact assessments (PIAs) to ensure that privacy implications will be appropriately identified, assessed and resolved before a new or substantially modified program or activity involving personal information is implemented.
Summaries of completed PIAs are available under the Internal audits and evaluations heading.
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