Annual Reports

The Registrar of Lobbyists is mandated by the Lobbyists Transparency Act (LTA) to publish an annual report, which is tabled as a public document in the BC Legislature.

The annual report describes the successes and challenges of the previous year and provides statistics on lobbying activities. The report also describes the compliance strategies utilized by our Office to enforce BC’s LTA.

The following annual reports are available in PDF format. Contact us if you would like to request a paper copy of our most recent annual report.

Year
Title Summary
2022-23 Annual Report I am pleased to present the 2022-23 Annual Report of the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists (ORL). This report covers the second full year of our work under the Lobbyists Transparency Act (LTA) following landmark amendments to BC’s lobbying legislation in 2020.
2021-22 Annual Report The Report covers the first full year of ORL operations under the significant amendments to BC’s lobbying regime proclaimed in 2020. Those changes included transitioning to a newly titled Lobbyists Transparency Act (LTA). Without a doubt, the amendments have made lobbying in BC more transparent.
2020-2021 Annual Report During this reporting period, my office implemented major changes to BC’s lobbying regime. We did so during an unprecedented global pandemic that drastically impacted the way we live and work.
2019-2020 Annual Report I am pleased to present the 2019-20 annual report of the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists (ORL). This report highlights the work of my office over the past year and in particular our efforts to prepare lobbyists and the public for the most significant changes to British Columbia’s lobbying oversight regime since legislation was first introduced in 2002. While these changes came into effect after the reporting period covered here, the majority of the work to prepare for the transition took place throughout 2019-20.
2018-2019 Annual Report I am pleased to present the 2018-19 annual report of the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists (ORL). Legislative reform and implementation of those changes were a significant part of the work of the ORL this year. The year commenced with a focus on educating lobbyists about the Lobbyists Registration Amendment Act, 2017. The first round of changes related to that Act came into effect on May 1, 2018, and addressed one of five recommendations for reforms to the Lobbyists Registration Act my office made in 2013: to establish a “cooling off” period for former public office holders.
2017-2018 Annual Report I am pleased to present our 2017-18 annual report, my first as British Columbia’s Registrar of Lobbyists. My term commenced in April 2018, just before the Lobbyists Registration Amendment Act came into effect on May 1, 2018. I am pleased that government has chosen to address needed reforms to the Lobbyists Registration Act (LRA) by providing greater clarity to lobbyists’ activities.
2016-2017 Annual Report I was honoured to assume the position of Acting Registrar of Lobbyists in July 2016. This is my first and, I expect, last opportunity to table an annual report for the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists for British Columbia. A permanent Registrar and Information and Privacy Commissioner will likely be selected in the near future.
2015-2016 Annual Report Looking back, I see that the implementation of the Lobbyists Registration Act (“LRA”) has reached a state of maturity. Its provisions have been in place for six years, and the awareness about lobbying has grown with lobbyists as well as with observers and the citizens of British Columbia. For this reason, one of our main goals for 2015-16 was to continue to stress enforcement in our Office’s compliance reviews to ensure that lobbyists properly register their activities as required by the LRA. To enhance our compliance efforts, we also committed to offering practical public education and outreach to the lobbyists community.
2014-2015 Annual Report We began the 2014-15 fiscal year with clear and measurable goals. I signalled my intention to step up enforcement activity to ensure lobbyists properly register their activities as required by the Lobbyists Registration Act (“LRA”) and to offer public education and outreach to promote awareness and compliance with the LRA. These two measures support the purpose of the Lobbyists Registry, which is to provide an open, accurate and complete public record of who’s influencing whom in government decision-making.
2013-2014 Annual Report Transparency in lobbying is critical to a well-functioning democracy. As the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development noted in its 2009 report on lobbying, “Private interests seeking to influence government decisions, legislation or the award of contracts is part of the policy-making process in modern democracies. Lobbying can improve government decisions by providing valuable insights and data, but it can also lead to unfair advantages for vocal vested interests if the process is opaque and standards are lax.”
2012-2013 Annual Report At the same time, the ORL also launched an online lobbyists registry, beginning a new era of transparency in several aspects of government decision-making. For the first time, B.C. citizens could search the registry and see who was lobbying which public officials regarding what issues.
2011-2012 Annual Report Two years ago, the new Lobbyists Registration Act (“LRA”) came into force, ushering in new disclosure requirements and conflict of interest rules, broadening the definition of lobbying, lowering registration thresholds and expanding enforcement powers for the Registrar.
2010-2011 Annual Report Lobbyists in British Columbia are regulated by the Lobbyists Registration Act (LRA), which is enforced by the British Columbia Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists (ORL). To promote transparent and accountable government decision-making, the LRA requires lobbyists to register in an online, public registry maintained by the ORL. Members of the public can view the registry to learn who is attempting to influence government decisions, and on what issues.