Lobbyist Registry FAQs

General FAQs

The Lobbyist Registry is an accessible record of persons who lobby public office holders outside of public forums like Council and Committee meetings or public open houses.

What is lobbying?

Lobbying occurs when an individual who represents a business or financial interest communicates with a public office holder with the intent to influence a decision on governmental matters outside of normal processes. This includes:

development, introduction, passage, defeat, amendment or repeal of a by-law, motion or resolution;
development, approval, amendment, application or termination of City policy, program, directive, grant or guideline;
outcome of a decision on any matter before Council, a Committee of Council or a Ward Councillor or staff member acting under delegated authority; or
the purchase of goods, services or construction and the award of a contract by the City.

Who is a public office holder?

A public office holder is:

a Member of Council and any person on his or her staff;
an officer or employee of the City;
a Member of a Local Board or Committee established by Council and any person on his or her staff;
an accountability officer appointed under the Municipal Act, 2001, including but not limited to: Auditor General, Integrity Commissioner, Lobbyist Registrar, Ombudsman, and Closed Meeting Investigator.

What is a Lobbyist?

There are three types of lobbyists:

Consultant Lobbyist: a person who lobbies for payment on behalf of a client (another person, company, partnership or organization).
In-house Lobbyist: a person who is an employee, partner, or sole proprietor, or a member of a board of directors and who lobbies on behalf of their own employer, business or organization.
Voluntary Unpaid Lobbyist: a person who lobbies without payment on behalf of a person, business, or other organization for the benefit of the interests of the person, business or other organization.

Who does the Lobbyist Registry apply to?

The Lobbyist Registry applies to anyone who wishes to lobby a Council Member or City employee outside of a public forum.

There are some exemptions for persons or bodies acting in their professional capacity, such as other governments or public sector. For a full list of exemptions, please refer to the Lobbyist Registry By-law.

Who does NOT need to register with the Lobbyist Registry?

Officials and employees of the government or public sector, other than the City.
Officials and employees of the City of Brampton, City of Mississauga, Town of Caledon, Region of Peel and other municipal bodies.
Members, directors, officers, employees or consultants retained by the following publicly-funded school boards and educational institutions:

Peel District School Board;
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board;
Ontario French Public School Board;
Ontario French Catholic School Board; and
Universities, colleges, and other publicly-funded educational institutions.

Members, directors, officers, employees or consultants retained by the following publicly-funded healthcare institutions:

Brampton Civic Hospital; and
Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness.

Members, directors, officers, employees or consultants retained by the following municipal associations:

Association of Municipalities of Ontario; and
Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Note: The information listed here is a summarized version. Please refer to the Lobbyist Registry By-law for full details.

Do I need to register as a lobbyist if I am speaking with a staff member or a Member of Council?

A significant portion of day-to-day communication between you and public office holders will not need to be registered. This includes public matters discussed at a meeting of Council, a Local Board or Committee, public meeting, hearing, consultation, open house or media event held or sponsored by the City or a public office holder.

It also includes routine communications relating to:

Client/public request for information
Compliments or complaints about a service or program
Enforcement, interpretation or application of any Act or by law
Implementation or administration of any policy, program, directive or guideline
Application for service, grant, planning approval, permit or other licence, permission or approval, when that communication is a request for information, or is a part of the normal application and approval process
Submitting a bid proposal as part of the approved processes of procurement
Response to a written request from the public office holder
Constituents communicating to their Councillor about a general neighbourhood or public policy issue
Input/comments received as part of stakeholder consultations
For or against viewpoints on a policy or program where the primary focus is broad community benefit or detriment. There should be no financial interest to those communicating on such matters.

Note: The information listed here is a summarized version. Please refer to the Lobbyist Registry By-law for full details.

How does it work?

Lobbyists must register. Registration may be completed before lobbying takes place. Registration must be completed within 5 business days of lobbying commencing. See FAQs for Lobbyists for more details.

What information can I obtain from the Lobbyist Registry?

The Lobbyist Registry will include information on people who lobby City Hall, such as:

Name and business address
Employer
Who the person is lobbying on behalf of
What issue the person is lobbying about
Who will be lobbied
How long lobbying on this issue is intended to take place

Who enforces the Lobbyist Registry and what are the penalties for not disclosing lobbying activity?

The Lobbyist Registrar is an accountability officer whose powers and duties are set out in the Municipal Act, 2001. Reporting directly to Council, the City of Brampton’s Lobbyist Registrar oversees and enforces the Lobbyist Registry and Gift Registry, as well as the Lobbyist Code of Conduct.

The Registrar will produce an annual report summarizing complaints, investigations and advice and will make recommendations for any improvements to the accountability process.

The Registrar has the power to investigate complaints and to impose sanctions if lobbying activity has not been disclosed or if an individual has contravened the Lobbyist Code of Conduct. Should the Registrar impose a sanction, it will be in the form of a temporary suspension of communication. Notice of the temporary suspension will be posted online.

Sanctions could be applied along the following incremental scale:

For a first contravention, the lobbyist may be prohibited from lobbying public office holders for 30 days.
For a second contravention, the lobbyist may be prohibited from lobbying public office holders for a period of 90 days.
For a third or subsequent contravention, the Lobbyist Registrar will determine an appropriate penalty that is greater than a penalty for a second contravention.

Members of Council and City staff are bound by the Lobbyist Registry By-law to refrain from communicating with individuals who have been found in contravention of the Lobbyist Registry By-law.

For more information on the Lobbyist Code of Conduct, refer to the Lobbyist Registry By-law.

What are some examples of lobbying?

The following examples could be seen as lobbying activity:

A vendor invites staff or Council members to a learning session where the vendor promotes their software solution over a solution currently being used at the City.
A developer by-passes the regular development application process and seeks approval from the Director to expedite a development application.
A local business owner meets with a Council member to request potential changes to a Licensing By-law.
A developer meets with Council members and a Manager in Economic Development to discuss the benefits of building a casino in Brampton.
A local business meets with a Council member to request funding for a new film studio being built in Brampton.

Note: These are some examples of what may or may not be considered as lobbying activity. Please refer to the Lobbyist Registry By-law for full details.

If I believe lobbying activity has not been entered into the Lobbyist Registry, how do I file a complaint?

If you believe lobbying activity has occurred and has not been entered into the Lobbyist Registry, or have concerns about the information contained within the Registry, please contact the Lobbyist Registrar at registry@brampton.ca.

How does this impact me as a stakeholder?

The Lobbyist Registry is intended to enhance transparency to the public.

Lobbyists will be required to register under the Lobbyist Registry, within five business days of lobbying commencing.

How does this impact me as a member of the public?

The Lobbyist Registry is intended to enhance transparency to the public.

When the Registries are fully established, the public will be able to access details online to gain an understanding of the issues that Council and staff are being lobbied about.

Why now?

The Lobbyist Registry is part of Council’s continued commitment to enhance accountability and transparency to the public.

When will it be implemented?

The Lobbyist Registry was implemented on January 1, 2016.

FAQs for Lobbyists

How do I use the Lobbyist Registry?

Registration is a two-step process:

Go to the Lobbyist Registry

For step one, you will provide information about:

you as a lobbyist, and
who you are lobbying for.

For step two, you will provide information about:

the subject matter about which you are lobbying, and
who and how long you will be lobbying.

You will be notified by e-mail within a few business days regarding the approval status of your lobbyist profile and subject matter.

What are subject matter registrations?

Each issue/topic you will be lobbying about must have a subject matter registration. The registration will include the category under which you are lobbying, a brief description of the issue, whom you will be lobbying and anticipated duration of lobbying activity.

When your subject matter registration is submitted, the Lobbyist Registrar will be alerted.

You will be notified by e-mail when your subject matter is approved or if it is not approved.

Do I need to pay to register?

No, there is no cost for registering with the Lobbyist Registry.

If I make an error in my entry on the registry, how can I fix it?

You can make edits to your registry entries in the online tool. The Lobbyist Registrar will be notified of the edit, and will review and approve.

Can I register as more than one type of lobbyist?

If you qualify as more than one type of lobbyist, you will be required to create a separate lobbyist profile for each type.

A Councillor has requested information from me. Do I have to register this as lobbying?

If a Member of Council has approached you and is seeking information from you, you do not have to register this as lobbying.

Do I need to disclose every communication?

At this time, you are not required to disclose every meeting, conversation, etc. You are only required to disclose the issue, whom you will be lobbying and how long lobbying is intended to last for.

Do I need to register as a lobbyist before I contact a public office holder?

Although there is no requirement to register before lobbying commences, you may do so if you wish. You must register within five business days of lobbying commencing.

The City has invited me to participate in a stakeholder relations session. Do I have to register this meeting?

No, your participation in the session does not require registration.

What happens if my activity concerns proprietary information?

If your lobbying activity concerns proprietary information, inform the Lobbyist Registrar at registry@brampton.ca prior to registering your profile or subject matter.

What if my issue does not fall under one of the subject matter categories?

If the issue you are lobbying does not clearly fall under one of the provided subject matter categories, please contact the Lobbyist Registrar at registry@brampton.ca.