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 June 6, the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada, adjourned for the summer.

Legislation passed during the 3^rd Session of the 29^th Legislature include Bill 8, entitled An Act to Strengthen Municipal Government and Bill 11, Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Amendment Act, 2017.

The Legislative Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on October 30, 2017, and to adjourn on December 7, 2017.

Effective July 1, Ontario’s Office of the Integrity Commissioner will begin enforcing a new lobbying law for the province. On December 9, 2014, the Legislative Assembly had passed an omnibus bill with changes to the province’s Lobbyists Registration Act, 1998. The law is now coming into force by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.

Schedule 8 of Bill 8, the Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014, gives the Ontario Integrity Commissioner as Lobbyist Registrar new investigative and enforcement power for violations. Individuals found in violation can be prohibited from lobbying for up to two years. Additional changes include a streamlined registration form for certain companies, a lower threshold registration for in-house lobbyists, and new questions on registration forms.