Submission to the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics study on the statutory review of the Lobbying Act

Canada’s universities play an important role in supporting the government’s evidence-based policy-making. Researchers and academics regularly share expertise with decision-makers through academic publications, advisory panels, parliamentary committee appearances and policy discussions.

Clear guidance in the Lobbying Act is important to ensure transparency and that Canada’s subject matter experts can continue contributing to public policy discussions.

In our submission, Universities Canada calls for:

• Maintaining the Commissioner of Lobbying’s advisory opinion related to the academic sector, which appropriately distinguishes between institutional lobbying activities and independent academic work.
• Clarifying how the Lobbying Act applies to research institutes and centres that operate within universities and in partnership with universities, including communications with public office holders regarding funding opportunities or programs related to their research activities.

Providing clear and consistent guidance in the Lobbying Act will help preserve the distinction between institutional lobbying and independent academic work, while addressing uncertainty related to research institutes and centres. This will support transparency and ensure that researchers and academics can continue to contribute their expertise to public policy discussions.