Campaign contribution limits increased in British Columbia for 2023 to $1,401.40 for contributions to registered political parties, including their candidates, nomination contestants and registered constituency associations.

Additionally, individuals can also contribute up to $1,401.40 to independent candidates and leadership contestants, if a leadership contest is called in 2023. The previous limits from 2022 were $1,309.09.

Also increased to $400 is the limit of a fee paid to attend a leadership convention or other convention of a political party without counting toward the $1,401.40 contribution limit.

These contribution amounts are adjusted at the start of each calendar year.

On September 9, the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists for British Columbia (ORL) will implement a change to its online registry that will allow for streamlining the process for declaring certain coalition activities.

The change involves answering additional questions regarding whether a lobbying activity being reported was a jointly signed or endorsed letter sent on behalf of one or more of the organizations listed in the associated registration return as members of a coalition to which the organization or client belongs. Rather than being reported by each of the coalition member of a joint letter, the letter will only need to be declared once as a coalition activity and only reported once by the organization or consultant lobbyist that communicated the joint letter to senior public office holders.

According to the ORL, a change in the online lobbying activity report forms will be visible to organizations that have declared in their registration returns that the organization is a member of a coalition. The change will also be visible to consultant lobbyists when they prepare lobbying activity reports for clients, if they have declared in the associated registration return that the client belongs to a coalition.

If an organization has not declared membership in a coalition, this change does not affect them. This change also does not affect consultant lobbyists whose clients are not members of coalitions.

The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia adjourned for the summer on June 17th.

The 2021 spring legislative session saw the Assembly primarily tackling issues relating to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This includes measures that would keep people safe and enable a strong economic recovery.

The Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on October 4. This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

On May 12, the British Columbia Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists released an updated guidance document concerning provincial entities.

The most prominent update concerns reporting when lobbying regional health authorities. The Office of the Registrar interprets health authorities to be government corporations as defined by the Financial Administration Act, and not just provincial entities. Lobbyists are required under the Lobbyists Transparency Act (LTA) to report all of their lobbying activity with health authorities because the LTA states that all officers, directors, and employees of government corporations are public office holders.

The guidance lists the provincial health authorities in British Columbia as the Northern Health Authority; the Interior Health Authority; the Fraser Health Authority; the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority; the Vancouver Island Health Authority; and the Provincial Health Services Authority.

The British Columbia Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists released new guidance documents this month outlining key considerations for lobbyists when declaring government funding in the Lobbyists Registry and guidance on the term “provincial entity” as it is used in the Lobbyists Transparency Act (LTA).

The LTA requires lobbyists provide information in their Registration Return about government funding, whether received or requested by their organization or client, from any government, government agency, or provincial entity in the preceding 12-month period. This is not limited to funding related to lobbying in British Columbia. Government funding includes those of any level of government, including foreign, federal, provincial, or municipal governmental entities. Non-refundable funding given in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is reportable. Now that the online Registry has been updated to permit lobbyists to declare funding, the guidance provides instructions on how to enter, remove and modify the information on a lobbyist’s report.

Similar government funding disclosure obligations are also required by federal lobbyists and lobbyists in Alberta.

The document providing guidance on the term “provincial entity” is intended to help lobbyists understand which persons working for a provincial entity are covered individuals for purposes of disclosure in lobbying reports. “Provincial entity” is specifically defined by regulation and generally refers to provincial government bodies or corporations outside core government. Provincial entities include crown corporations, school districts, public sector post-secondary institutions, such as colleges and universities, and health authorities.

As of March 30, committees of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, such as the Public Account Committee, continue to meet using videoconferencing.

Some of the committee videoconferencing is available for the public to view live on the Assembly’s website.

On March 23, lawmakers had adjourned their Spring Session to a date they have not yet determined.

Legislators will reconvene at their physical legislative building when the Speaker of the House, after consultation with the government, determines the public interest requires it or when advised by the government.

British Columbia’s Office of the Registrar issued a guidance document for organizations last month.

This in anticipation of the changes to the province’s lobbying laws taking effect on May 4.

The guidance document provides an overview for organizations with in-house lobbyists under the Lobbyists Transparency Act.

Beginning on May 4, the time threshold for requiring in-house lobbyists to register is reduced from 100 hours to 50 hours in the preceding 12-month period.

Time spent preparing to lobby, researching and writing reports, and strategizing would be included in calculating the time threshold required for registration.

However, activities predating a decision to lobbying would “likely not be included in the calculation,” according to the published guidance.

Organizations that are not member-based or that do not have a primary purpose to promote or oppose issues may qualify for the exception.

This is only if the organizations have fewer than six employees and the lobbying activities add up to fewer than 50 hours in the preceding 12-month period.

Examples of organizations unlikely to qualify for the exemption are unions and chambers of commerce.

Presently, a new online Lobbyists Registry is in development to replace the current Lobbyists Registry.

This registry is scheduled to launch on May 4, 2020.

Campaign contribution limits increased in British Columbia for 2020 to $1,253.15 for contributions to registered political parties, including their candidates, nomination contestants and registered constituency associations.

Additionally, individuals can contribute up to $1,253.15 to independent candidates and leadership contestants, if a leadership contest is called in 2020.

These limits are updated annually.

The previous limits were $1,225.17 in 2019, and $1,200 in 2018.

Also increased to $370 is the limit of a fee paid to attend a leadership convention or other convention of a political party without counting toward the $1,253.15 limit contribution limit.

On May 4, 2020, several key changes of British Columbia’s lobbying law come into effect, including changing the name of the Lobbyist Registration Act to the Lobbyist Transparency Act. The legislation making the changes, Bill 54, Lobbyists Registration Amendment Act, 2018, received royal assent on November 27, 2019.

Other coming changes include:

• Reducing the time threshold for requiring in-house lobbyists to register from 100 hours to 50 hours annually
• Adding the requirement for lobbyists to complete a monthly return containing details of actual lobbying activities in the previous month by the 15th of each subsequent month
• Declarations in those returns of what code of conduct the lobbyists has undertaken and where it is available for public viewing

Additionally, a newly enacted prohibition on gifts from lobbyists is included in the bill. However, the prohibition does not apply if the gift is given under the protocol or social obligations normally accompanying the duties of a public office holder and the total value of the gift given, directly or indirectly, is less $100 in a 12-month period.

Beginning in May, the registrar will also have the power to impose a prohibition on lobbying for up to 2 years.

Presently, a new online Lobbyists Registry is in development to replace the current Lobbyists Registry and is scheduled to launch on May 4, 2020.

Also effective on May 4, 2020, the Lobbyists Registration Regulation is repealed and the Lobbyist Transparency Regulation is enacted.

On May 6, a by-election will be held for the electoral district of Nanaimo–Ladysmith (British Columbia) to fill a vacancy in the Canadian House of Commons.

On January 7, the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Stéphane Perrault, had received official notice from the Speaker of the House of Commons that the seat became vacant following the resignation of Sheila Malcolmson, who resigned on January 2 to run in a provincial byelection.

On March 24, Elections Canada declared the May election date and announced the opening of its local office in Nanaimo-Ladysmith.

Sometime before March 18, 2019, a by-election will be announced for the seat in the House of Commons representing Burnaby South in the province of British Columbia.

On September 17, the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Stéphane Perrault, received official notice from the Speaker of the House of Commons that the seat for Burnaby South (British Columbia) became vacant following the resignation of Kennedy Stewart, who resigned on September 14 in order to run for mayor of Vancouver.

Under the law, the by-election date must be announced between September 28, 2018, and March 18, 2019, and will signal the start of the by-election period.

According to Elections Canada, the earliest date the by-election can be held is November 5, 2018.

On May 1, revolving door amendments to British Columbia’s Lobbyists Registration Act (LRA) come into force. The new amendment mandates a person who is a former public office holder be prohibited from lobbying, in relation to any matter, for a period of two years after the date the person left office.

Covered public officials include members of the Executive Council, individuals employed in the members’ offices, and parliamentary secretaries. Covered officials also include individuals who formerly occupied senior executive positions in a ministry, associate deputy ministers, assistant deputy ministers, and persons in a position of comparable rank in a ministry.

If the registrar is satisfied that it is in the public interest, the registrar may, on request and on any terms or conditions the registrar considers advisable, exempt a person from the revolving door prohibitions.

The new amendments come into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, pursuant to Bill 8, Lobbyist Registration Amendment Act, 2017, which received Royal Asset on November 30, 2017.

On April 26, the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists for British Columbia announced it will be temporarily unavailable on May 1 starting at 9:30 a.m. as it makes changes to the registry.

On February 14, a by-election will be held for Kelowna West electoral district seat of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.

The seat has remained vacant since August 4 of last year when MLA Christy Clark resigned to leave politics after leading the British Columbia Liberal Party from 2011 to 2017.

Premier John Horgan announced the date for the special election on January 17.

On October 30, a bill was introduced in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia banning corporate and union political contributions for local elections in the Canadian province. Bill 15, Local Elections Campaign Financing Amendment Act, 2017, was introduced by Municipal Affairs Minister Selina Robinson.

Among other related changes, the legislation also caps contributions from individual donors to $1,200 for the 2018 elections with contribution limits then indexed for inflation in sequent election years. If passed, the law would be in effect for British Columbia’s October 28, 2018, municipal elections and would be retroactive to October 31, 2017.