Summary#

Calgary City Council adopted Councillor Clark’s Notice of Motion – Lobbyist Registry, as amended. It directs the Chief Administrative Officer and Council’s Ethics Advisor to review options and report to the Executive Committee by Q4 2026; it does not create a registry. The motion’s stated goal is to consider ways to increase public visibility into lobbying.

• The review must cover practices in comparable Canadian municipalities and whether Council has legal authority to create a mandatory or voluntary registry.
• It must examine the registry’s possible scope, including how it would apply to senior administration, public disclosure and access, and working with the provincial government to expand its registry.
• City staff and the Ethics Advisor must include estimated implementation and ongoing administration costs.

What it means for you#

• People who lobby the City: This decision does not require you to register or disclose lobbying.
• The public: No new public registry or disclosure rules start under this decision. Council will consider options after receiving the report.
• City staff and the Ethics Advisor: They must conduct the review and report by Q4 2026.

Money#

No cost estimate is provided.

• The report must estimate the cost of setting up and running a registry. The decision does not approve a registry budget or state what the review itself will cost.

What is unclear#

• What activities or people a registry might cover, and what disclosure and access rules it might use.
• Whether Council has authority to create a mandatory or voluntary registry, and whether a provincial registry could be expanded for Calgary.
• Whether Council will later approve a registry, and how it would be funded.

Case for#

• The motion’s stated rationale is that people should be able to see efforts to influence City decisions, including on land use, procurement and policy.
• A review could give Council options before it decides whether to create rules, including legal authority, public access and costs.

Case against#

• The decision does not itself require lobbying disclosure, so it does not immediately address the visibility concern described in the motion.
• The motion does not set a deadline for Council to decide on a registry after the report, or require Council to adopt one.
• Councillors Yule and Chabot voted against the final motion. The minutes do not state their reasons.