Item - 2015.EX8.2

The Executive Committee:

1.  Referred the item to the City Manager for report back to the December 1, 2015 meeting of Executive Committee, with the request that stakeholder consultation be undertaken and that the City Manager's report include an analysis of comparable legislation in other municipal, provincial and federal jurisdictions; and clarification of whether requests for meetings resulted in actual meetings or phone calls with the Councillor or their office staff.

This report responds to City Council's direction which requested the City Manager, in consultation with the City Solicitor and the Lobbyist Registrar, to report back to City Council on: (1) clarifying and strengthening Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 140, Lobbying ("Lobbying By-law") to explicitly require that consultant lobbyists disclose their ultimate client, and (2) amendments to the Lobbying By-law to permit the Lobbyist Registrar to impose conditions for registration, continued registration or renewal of registration as permitted by section 166 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 ("COTA").

Council also directed the City Manager report back on requesting legislative amendments to COTA to: (3) enable the Lobbyist Registrar to impose administrative sanctions, including administrative monetary penalties and prohibiting a lobbyist who has been found in breach of the by-law from lobbying, and (4) that these administrative sanctions be included in the next opportunity for review of COTA. 

This report recommends amendments to the Lobbying By-law to require that consultant lobbyists disclose their ultimate client and proposes amendments to permit the Lobbyist Registrar to impose conditions for registration. The report also recommends amendments to allow the Lobbyist Registrar to impose temporary bans on communication for Lobbyists in breach of the Lobbying By-law, as is permitted under section 166 of COTA.

The Five-Year Review of the City of Toronto Act report is being considered by Executive Committee at the same meeting as this report.  The ability for the Lobbyist Registrar to impose administrative sanctions, including administrative monetary penalties, has been included in the City’s COTA amendment requests for Executive Committee's consideration.