Influencing Government.
Regulating Influence. De-Stigmatizing Lobbying.

Politicians and civil servants do not understand all angles of every issue. Lobbying is a legal activity and a valid channel to ensure that unintended consequences of government actions are fully understood. 

Yet the public has the right to know who is legitimately influencing the decisions of government. Confidence in the integrity of government decision-making is essential. The mandates of both the Office of the Lobbyist Registrar for British Columbia and the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying federally is to increase public trust in government decision-making processes through increased transparency of lobbying activities directed at federal and provincial public office holders.

The effectiveness of a lobbying system rests almost entirely in the ability to self-assess lobbying behaviour and the good faith of those required to register. A healthy lobbyist registration system must, amongst other things, de-stigmatize the activity of lobbying, provide unambiguous rules and create an environment of widespread commitment to simple and unstimagtized disclosure.

This session is an educational opportunity for anyone who wants to engage governments constructively and proactively to influence policy or raise awareness about a program, product or service.

• Understand what lobbying is and how the lobbyist registration systems work at both the provincial level and the federal level
• Understand how Canada's Lobbying Act and B.C.’s Lobbyist Registration Act can affect your professional practice
• Enhance your strategies for government relations

Our speakers:

Karen E. Shepherd is the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada where she is responsible for the oversight of compliance and enforcement of the Lobbyists Registration Act and the Lobbyists Code of Conduct. Before her appointment as Commissioner, she held the position of Interim Commissioner of Lobbying and prior to that, was the Director of Investigations and Deputy Registrar in the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists from 2004 to 2008.

Speaker: Mary Elizabeth Carlson
Executive Director, Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner
and the Office of the Lobbyist Registrar for the Province of British Columbia

Mary Elizabeth Carlson is the Executive Director of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and the Office of the Lobbyist Registrar for the Province of British Columbia. The OIPC is an independent quasi-judicial office of the legislature, responsible for enforcing the public sector Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the private sector Personal Information Protection Act and the Lobbyist Registration Act. Mary leads all agency staff collectively responsible for investigating and mediating access to information appeals and privacy complaints filed under those statutes and provides strategic access and privacy advice to public and private agencies. 

In addition to her extensive privacy and access regulatory experience, Mary acted as Chief Privacy Strategist for the BC Ministry of Health, advising on the privacy implications of the proposed electronic health record. She has experience in the privacy technology field, formerly employed by Zero-Knowledge Systems in Montreal as a Senior Privacy Architect and Policy Consultant. From 1990 to 1993 Mary was the Director of Policy and Planning for the Yukon Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board and before that, she spent seven years with the Yukon Department of Justice, Corrections and Law Enforcement Division.

Click here for the registration form in PDF.

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