New Library of Parliament Publication on Federal Lobbying System

The most recent Weekly Checklist of Government Publications lists The Federal Lobbying System, written by Nancy Holmes of the Parliamentary Information and Research Service of the Library of Parliament:

"Until July 2008, lobbying at the federal level in Canada was governed by the Lobbyists Registration Act, which 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 is trying to influence government policy in this country."

"In December 2006, the Federal Accountability Act made substantive amendments to the Lobbyists Registration Act, including renaming the law the Lobbying Act, presumably because it seeks to regulate the activities of lobbyists, rather than simply monitor them by means of a registry system. The Lobbying Act came into force on 2 July 2008. This paper will review the legislative history of the Lobbying Act as well as outline the changes to the lobbying system brought about by the Federal Accountability Act."

The document describes the role of the Commissioner of Lobbying, an independent Officer of Parliament; the disclosure requirements for lobbyists who communicate with federal public office holders on behalf of a third party; offenses and sanctions; and the new lobbyists' Code of Conduct.

The Weekly Checklist includes a listing of book and serial titles which have been released during the previous week by the Parliament of Canada, federal departments, and Statistics Canada.