Item - 2025.EX28.16

The Executive Committee recommends that:

1. City Council amend §140-5 of Municipal Code Chapter 140, Lobbying, by adding the following new provision:

§140-5K. Communications during City-established advisory or working bodies.
 

Communications that occur during meetings of a working group, roundtable, task force, advisory committee, or similar body established and convened by the City Manager or by a city division, for the purpose of providing advice or input to City staff or officials, provided that:

1. The body has a written mandate and was formally established before the meeting, as a multi-member group with a continuing advisory function;

2. Its mandate, membership, and meeting records identifying participants and summarizing subject matter discussed are publicly disclosed and accessible;

3. The participant is attending at the request of a city official, employee, or agency;

4. The participant does not use the meeting to seek, promote, or endorse contracts, grants, or other benefits for their employer or client; and

5. This exemption applies only to communications made during meetings convened under the body’s mandate, not to private, serial, or follow-up communications before or after, or to individual or informal meetings described as advisory.

It is recommended that a new section be added to Chapter 140 of the Toronto Municipal Code, Lobbying (the Lobbying By-law), to exempt communications that occur during structured meetings of roundtables, working groups, advisory committees, and similar bodies established by City divisions or the City Manager for the purpose of providing advice or input to staff.

The proposed addition addresses an inconsistency in the Lobbying By-law's application that arises from the distinction between advisory bodies appointed by Council (whose members are considered public office holders and exempt from registration) and those established solely by City staff (whose participants may be required to register as lobbyists). This discrepancy creates confusion and may discourage public engagement.

The proposed exemption is narrowly scoped and conditional, maintaining transparency and integrity while removing unnecessary barriers to stakeholder consultation.