New Lobbying Legislation In Force In New Brunswick

On April 1, 2017, the New Brunswick Lobbyists' Registration Act (Act) came into force, creating the first regime in New Brunswick to regulate lobbyists and lobbying activity in the province. The proclamation of the Act fulfills a commitment made by the provincial government that a public lobbyist registry would be in place before the end of 2018.

The New Brunswick regime is similar to other provincial and federal regimes. It generally does not prohibit lobbying, but rather requires disclosure of advocacy of public office holders.

REGULATED LOBBYISTS AND LOBBYING ACTIVITIES

As with other regimes the Act regulates in-house and consultant lobbyists. The registration thresholds for in-house lobbyists are exceeded if the duties of all employees in the aggregate would constitute 20 per cent of the duties of one employee. Generally, the rule of thumb is that the thresholds for in-house lobbyists will be exceeded if the employees commit 35 hours a month to lobbying