The year 2021 will likely bring major changes to the Quebec Lobbyists Registry online lobbying activity disclosure platform.

In the works since the summer of 2019, the updated web platform aims to replace the “technological obsolescence” of the current site with a modern system, to improve the user experience, and to be in line with Quebec’s 2019-2023 digital transformation strategy, according to Lobbyists Commissioner Jean-Francois Routhier.

“The modernization of the lobbyists registry is without a doubt one of the biggest projects of our institution since its creation in 2002,” Routhier stated in his December 2020 newsletter.

A user committee made up of lobbyists, public office holders, journalists, and citizens has been testing a model of the new website to validate its user-friendliness and processes.

The commissioner has emphasized that the new website’s intuitive design, simplified process for registration, and increased capacity of searching for relevant information, are of interest to both lobbyists and the public.

Routhier says the new platform will replace the current Lobbyists Registry platform at the end of 2021.

Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) have passed a motion requesting the government implement a lobbyist registry in the territory. The registry would identify lobbyists and each meeting with elected officials.

MLAs have also asked the government to develop an online database to allow public access to the registry.

Only New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and the three territories are without a lobbyist registry.