VICTORIA - British Columbia's Information and Privacy Commissioner says she is cracking down on lobbyists because they haven't been following the rules.
Elizabeth Denham says in her annual report that her office completed 153 compliance reviews, conducted 18 formal investigations and issued six administrative penalties for failing to comply with the Lobbyists Registration Act.
Her report says lobbyists consistently make the same mistakes when it comes to following the law.
She says they misunderstand what constitutes lobbying, fail to identify registration timelines and ignore requirements to update and correct disclosure statements.
Denham says lobbyists' top targets are cabinet ministers, members of the legislature, public agencies, ministerial staff and MLA staff members.
Her office also released its annual report on the oversight and enforcement of B.C.'s privacy laws, which investigated the misuse of police information in employment background checks.
