The following protocol will apply to any Laurentian University (the “University”) initiated contact with Designated Public Office Holders (“DPOH”):
- Any University initiated contact which could be characterized as “lobbying” must be vetted and approved by the President or their designate;
- The President or their designate shall control any entry on the Lobbyist Registry (related to any University initiated contact with a DPOH);
- The President, as the University’s most senior officer, shall be responsible for directing all government relations activities for the University, and ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Act that prohibit the use of public funds to retain consultant lobbyists to provide lobbyist services;
- Any University initiated contact with DPOH shall ensure that such activity does not knowingly place a POH in a position of real or potential conflict of interest.
This Protocol recognizes that University initiated contact which can be characterized as
lobbying is most likely to occur where an approach to a minister of the Crown or a minister of state or a member of the Senate or the House of Commons is made, but that any person employed in their office is also a DPOH.
The University is not responsible for registering any approach to a DPOH which is directed at securing any individual government grant or similar dispensation or award, and any University employee or representative engaged in such an approach is encouraged to seek their own counsel to determine any requirements to register pursuant to the Act. For the purpose of this Protocol, lobbying is defined as communicating with a DPOH in an attempt to influence:
- The development of any legislative proposal by the Government of Canada or by a member of the Senate or the House of Commons
- The introduction of any Bill or resolution in either House of Parliament or the passage, defeat or amendment of any Bill or resolution that is before either House of Parliament
- The making or amendment of any regulation
- The development or amendment of any policy or program of the Government of Canada
- The awarding of any non-peer reviewed grant, contribution or other financial benefit by or on behalf of His Majesty in right of Canada
As the senior officer of the University, the President shall also identify and document any University initiated contact with a POH which is determined to be governed by one of the exceptions to registration under the Act.
If you would like to make a request to engage in lobbying a federal DPOH on behalf of the University or you are unsure whether the activity you are looking to engage in constitutes lobbying, you must make your request through the Office of the President via email at: president@laurentian.ca.