Lobbyist Registry By-law

Most interactions you have with public office holders and members of Council will not need to be registered. This includes:

• Speaking on the public record during a meeting of Council, a Committee of Council, or local board of the City;
• Any communication that occurs during a public process such as a public meeting, hearing, consultation, open house or media event held or sponsored by the City or a public office holder or related to an application;
• If you are participating as a stakeholder in a meeting initiated by the City;
• If you are seeking information;
• If you are following a Council-approved process, such as a site application or building permit;
• Any communication regarding a business or financial interest by not-for-profit entity where such entity has no paid staff;
• Providing compliments or complaints about a City service or program; and
• Advocacy activities, which are generally carried out by community groups and associations and are communications that state a position for a general community benefit, either City-wide or local.

The following persons and organizations shall not be considered lobbyists when acting in their public capacity:

Government or public sector not including the City and other municipal bodies

• Members of the Senate or House of Commons of Canada, the legislative assembly of a province, the council or legislative assembly of a territory, or persons on the staff of the members;
• Members of a First Nation council as defined in the Indian Act or of the council of an Indian band established by an Act of the Parliament of Canada, or persons on the staff of the members;
• Employees or consultants retained by the Government of Canada, the government of a province or territory, a First Nation council, a federal or provincial crown corporation or other federal or provincial public agency;
• Members of a council or other statutory body, including a local board, charged with the administration of the civil or municipal affairs of a municipality in Canada other than the City, persons on staff of the members, or officers or employees of the municipality or local board;
• Members of a national or sub-national foreign government, persons on the staff of the members, or officers, employees, diplomatic agents, consular officers or official representatives in Canada of the government;

Officials and employees of the City and other municipal bodies

Public office holders:

• officers, directors or employees of a local board of the City and acting in their public capacity, and members of an advisory committee appointed by Council;
• a member of an Advisory Committee, acting in their committee authorized by and delegated by City Council.

Other public sector

• Persons communicating on behalf of local school boards;
• Persons communicating on behalf of healthcare institutions.

Please read the Lobbyist Registry By-law (PDF) for more information on who is exempt from registering, or refer to the Am I a Lobbyist? Flowchart (PDF).

When you register a lobbying activity, you will need to identify your name and business address as well as the category of lobbyist you fall under. If you are working on behalf of a client, you will identify the client name and address. You are also required to declare whether or not you have ever held a position with the City of Barrie.

When submitting your lobbying activity, you will be required to identify the subject matter (e.g. Zoning By-law). When disclosing your activity, you will include the person you lobbied, how you lobbied (e.g. email, telephone etc.), the date of the activity, as well as a brief description of your communication.

If your communication concerns proprietary information, please contact records@barrie.ca prior to registering your file or activity.

In cases where the intent of the communication is unclear, the matter should be referred to the Lobbyist Registrar’s attention for direction. The Lobbyist Registrar can be contacted at records@barrie.ca. 

You will need to enter each lobbying file you are communicating on. Each file must be attached to a particular client and you will need to disclose the client name or company name and the business address.

No, there is no requirement for pre-registration.

Yes. Former public office holders cannot lobby the City for a period of six (6) months after the date the person ceased to be a public office holder.

You are only required to register the initial communication or discussion. For instance, if you have an extended email exchange on the same topic, the lobbying activity should be logged as one email exchange on the date the exchange commenced. However, if the topic changes during the course of the exchange, you are required to register the new topic.

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

Any communication surrounding your role as a stakeholder is not considering lobbying and does not need to be registered.

The Lobbyist Registrar is an accountability officer whose powers and duties are set out in the Municipal Act, 2001 and the Lobbyist Registry By-law and enforces the Lobbyist Registry as well as the Lobbyist Code of Conduct (Appendix A of the by-law).

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 ban on communication. Notice of the temporary ban will be circulated to members of Council and public office holders and posted on the City’s website.

Sanctions could be applied along the following incremental scale:

• For a first breach, the Lobbyist is banned from communicating with public office holders for 30 days.
• For a second breach, the Lobbyist is banned from communicating with public office holders for 90 days.
• In the event of a third breach, the Registrar has the discretion to determine an appropriate sanction.

 
Members of Council and public office holders are bound by their respective Codes of Conduct to refrain from communicating with individuals who have been found in contravention of the Lobbyist Registry By-law.