ARCHIVED - Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada - Report

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Message from the Commissioner of Lobbying

I am pleased to present the 2012-13 Report on Plans and Priorities for the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying. My mandate is threefold: establish and maintain a public registry for lobbyists to disclose their activities; educate lobbyists, their clients, and public office holders about the Lobbying Act and its requirements; and ensure compliance with the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct.

The Lobbying Act is based on the premise that lobbying is legitimate, but that it must be conducted in a transparent manner. The Registry of Lobbyists is the primary instrument for public disclosure of lobbying activities. As such, my Office strives to make the system easier to use and more dependable, both for lobbyists to report on their activities and for Canadians to search for this information. In the past year, I surveyed and consulted key stakeholders to identify ways to improve the search function of the Registry. This work will be completed in 2012-13.

Better awareness and understanding of the Act helps not only lobbyists, but also their clients and public office holders, build a culture that leads to compliance. Awareness of the Lobbying Act is essential to ensuring that lobbyists understand when registration is required. As a result, I believe they are more likely to comply with the legislation. I intend to continue to reach out to all key stakeholders.

I will continue to deal with all alleged breaches of the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct in a serious manner. In 2011-12, I tabled five Reports on Investigation in Parliament, dealing with breaches to the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct. I intend to process files as efficiently as possible, keeping pace with a growing caseload, in order to be able to table Reports on Investigations in a timely manner.

As Commissioner, I remain committed to supporting the objectives set out by Parliament through the Lobbying Act. I believe that the effective administration of this key piece of legislation has contributed to increased transparency and accountability in the lobbying of federal public office holders. In the coming year, I will support the work of Parliament, as it continues the work that began in 2011-12, to review the Lobbying Act.

Section I — Organizational Overview

Raison d’être

The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying (OCL) supports the Commissioner of Lobbying, the Agent of Parliament responsible for the administration of the Lobbying Act (the Act). The legislation seeks to improve transparency and accountability regarding communications between lobbyists and federal public office holders and increase the confidence of Canadians in the integrity of government decision-making.

Responsibilities

The Commissioner of Lobbying is responsible for the administration of the Lobbying Act. The authority of the Commissioner is derived from the Act.

The mandate of the Commissioner is threefold:

1. Establish and maintain the Registry of Lobbyists, which contains and makes public the registration information disclosed by lobbyists;
2. Develop and implement educational programs to foster public awareness of the requirements of the Act; and
3. Undertake administrative reviews and investigations to ensure compliance with the Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct (the Code).

Under the Act, the Commissioner of Lobbying also has the authority to grant exemptions to former designated public office holders who are subject to a five-year prohibition on lobbying activities.

The Commissioner reports annually to Parliament on the administration of the Act and the Code. The Commissioner is also required to table to Parliament Reports on Investigations, which include her findings, conclusions and the reasons for her conclusions.

Strategic Outcome

In order to effectively pursue its mandate, the OCL aims to achieve the following strategic outcome:

Program Activity Architecture

The Program Activity Architecture (PAA) for the OCL is its basis for reporting to Parliament. The PAA reflects how the OCL allocates and manages the resources under its control to achieve its intended outcome.

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Organizational Priorities

Priority	Type	Program Activity
Improve the search and reporting functions of the Registry.	Ongoing	Registration of Lobbyists
Description
Why is this a priority? The Registry of Lobbyists is the main tool to disclose information and ensure transparency of lobbying activities. It contains considerable information about lobbyists and their activities. Improving the search and reporting functions will help Canadians have better access to information about lobbying activities. Plans for meeting the priority Building on work completed in 2011-12, the OCL will launch an upgraded version of the Registry of Lobbyists in 2012-13. The new version will feature new search tools and more extensive statistical reporting capabilities.

Priority	Type	Program Activity
Clarify objectives, roles and procedures in support of more effective education and outreach activities; and improve outreach to key stakeholders in a more efficient manner.	Ongoing	Education and Research
Description
Why is this a priority? Clearer objectives, roles and procedures will help align education and outreach activities to the mandate of the OCL and facilitate the identification of more efficient delivery mechanisms. A long-term outreach strategic plan will allow the OCL to better assess and meet the needs of key stakeholders. Plans for meeting the priority A review of roles and procedures will be undertaken to determine how to achieve more effective program governance. Criteria will be developed to better identify key stakeholders in need of outreach.

Priority	Type	Program Activity
Improve the management of review and investigation cases based on clear criteria and priority in order to facilitate workload planning and file processing.	Ongoing	Reviews and Investigations under the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct
Description
Why is this a priority? More effective case management and planning will enable the OCL to best use its human and financial resources to further improve the application of the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct and ensure that the results of reviews and investigations are communicated to Canadians on a timely basis. Plans for meeting the priority The Directorate will design and implement a planning system to prioritize files based on pre-established risk criteria, and to determine timelines for completion based on caseload analysis.

Priority	Type	Program Activity
Improve the information technology infrastructure to support the planning and management of the Directorate's caseload and the protection of files.	Ongoing	Reviews and Investigations under the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct
Description
Why is this a priority? An effective case management system will help: improve the efficiency of review and investigation processes; reduce the inventory of files inherited from previous incarnations of the Office; and expedite the completion of files and reporting of results. Timely completion of reviews and investigations will improve compliance and provide assurance to Canadians that lobbying activities are being conducted in conformity with the legislation and according to the highest ethical standards. Plans for meeting the priority The Directorate will continue to participate in the work of a cluster group with a view to adopting an IT-based case management system that will help manage the review and investigation caseload more effectively and efficiently.

Priority	Type	Strategic Outcome and/or Program Activity
Continue strengthening the OCL management accountability framework with a view to positioning the organization to further improve priority-setting and allow the OCL to better communicate its performance story to Parliament and Canadians.	Ongoing	Internal Services
Description
Why is this a priority? The OCL is a small organization with limited human and financial resources. As an independent Agent of Parliament, the Commissioner is also the deputy head of the organization. Like other Agents of Parliament, she is solely responsible for monitoring and ensuring compliance with Treasury Board policies within her organization. The OCL has put in place all required measures to ensure a high level of accountability to assist the Commissioner in fulfilling her role as deputy head of an independent organization reporting to Parliament. Plans for meeting the priority Continue with the implementation of the multi-year Internal Audit Plan approved in 2010-11. Complete the establishment of the Evaluation function. Review and update the OCL's Corporate Risk Profile and Performance Measurement Framework. Develop a multi-year strategic plan for the OCL, including HR, finance and IM/IT components.

Risk Analysis

The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying (OCL) has established and maintains the federal registry of lobbyists and lobbying activities known as the Lobbyists Registration System (LRS). The OCL shares the challenges of any office charged with maintaining a large-scale registry in terms of accuracy and timeliness of disclosure while ensuring registrant compliance and system integrity. The LRS is a very complex system which continually requires monitoring, maintenance and improvements to ensure it remains accessible to users and the information it contains is accurate.

The OCL strives to ensure that the LRS is continually accessible to registrants so that the goal of transparency of lobbying activities can be achieved. Therefore, the OCL minimizes registration delays by preventing system interruptions. To this end, the Registry has a number of built-in failsafe mechanisms. In the unlikely event that the Registry does shut down, either intentionally or otherwise, the OCL has processes and systems in place to limit the amount of downtime to a minimum.

The Act requires that registrants disclose certain communications involving "designated" public office holders, e.g. ministers, ministerial staff, deputy ministers, Members of Parliament and Senators. This reporting requirement is satisfied online by registrants directly inputting the data. As a result, reporting errors may occur. The OCL continues to educate lobbyists and designated public office holders regularly on how to reduce reporting errors. The OCL monitors the overall accuracy of monthly communication reports through regular sampling. It also developed a system functionality that allows external users to amend incorrect monthly communication reports without the need for OCL involvement, thus freeing up resources for other priorities.

The OCL conducts administrative reviews and investigations to ensure compliance with the Act and the Code. It also reviews applications for exemption from the five-year lobbying prohibition for former designated public office holders. The Commissioner's decisions with respect to administrative reviews, investigations and applications for exemption may be subject to judicial review by the Federal Court. It is possible that judicial review decisions could affect the Commissioner's ability to complete investigations in a timely manner. The OCL conducts reviews and investigations that are fair, thorough and well-documented, and that will stand the test of litigation, if required.

The OCL is a small organization that relies on other federal organizations for most of its corporate services, including information technology, human resources management and financial services. Service agreements with providers are carefully monitored and revised periodically to ensure that all practices and services are consistent with OCL requirements, standards, and internal controls. The Audit and Evaluation Committee (AEC) supports the Commissioner in her role of deputy head. The AEC is an independent advisory committee that provides objective advice and recommendations regarding the organization's risk management, control and governance frameworks and processes. The Committee also exercises oversight of core areas of management, control and accountability, including reporting.

Planning Summary

The Commissioner of Lobbying, like other Agents of Parliament, was not subject to the Government direction with regard to the comprehensive review of expenditures in departments and agencies. However, all Agents of Parliament were strongly encouraged to adhere to the spirit and intent of the Government's efforts to reduce public sector expenditures while increasing their efficiency and effectiveness. As such, the OCL conducted a comprehensive review to support these efforts.

As the Government decisions regarding departmental budgets are not known at this point, no result is included in this document. The information contained in this report will provide a baseline for future reporting on the impacts of the government's decisions regarding budgets for fiscal year 2012-13. Please reference the 2012-13 Departmental Performance Report for additional information regarding the implementation of these decisions.

The table below provides a summary of the total planned spending for the OCL for the next three fiscal years.

Financial Resources ($ thousands)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
4,721	4,628	4,628

The table below provides a summary of the total planned human resources for the OCL for the next three fiscal years.

Human Resources (Full-time Equivalent — FTE)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
28	28	28

Planning Summary Table

Strategic Outcome: Transparency and accountability in the lobbying of public office holders contribute to confidence in the integrity of government decision-making.

Performance Indicator	Target
The level of compliance with the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct.	100%

Planning Summary Table
($ thousands)

Program Activity1	Forecast Spending 2011-12 ($ thousands)	Planned Spending ($ thousands)			Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
Registration of Lobbyists	1,053	1,126	1,126	1,126	An accountable, transparent, and responsive government
Education and Research	923	950	950	950	An accountable, transparent, and responsive government
Reviews and Investigations under the Lobbying Act and Lobbyists' Code of Conduct	1,147	1,026	1,026	1,026	An accountable, transparent, and responsive government
Total Planned Spending		3,102	3,102	3,102

Planning Summary Table
($ thousands)

Program Activity	Forecast Spending 2011-12 ($ thousands)	Planned Spending ($ thousands)
		2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
Internal Services	1,927	1,619	1,526	1,526
Total Planned Spending		1,619	1,526	1,526

Expenditure Profile

The figure below illustrates the spending trend for the OCL from 2008-09 to 2014-15.

Actual spending corresponds to total expenditures as published in the Public Accounts of Canada. The forecast spending reflects the expected expenditures for 2011-12. The planned spending for 2012-13 reflects resources approved through Main Estimates, and the anticipated lapse to be carried forward from 2011-12. Finally, the planned spending for 2013-14 and 2014-15 reflects the approved resources.

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The forecast spending for 2011-12 shows a significant increase which can be explained by the severance payments incurred pursuant to the new severance pay provisions in some collective agreements ($264K).

Estimates by Vote

For information on our organizational appropriations, please see the 2012-13 Main Estimates publication.

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