AIMS Lobbying Compliance Manager System Simplifies Compliance Under the Lobbying Act, Helps Ease Reporting to the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada
Ottawa, Canada, May 19, 2009 – Advocacy Information Management Systems Inc. (AIMS) has launched its secure web-based lobbying compliance system, the Lobbying Compliance Manager (LCM), which makes the task of managing and reporting lobbying activities much simpler and helps lobbyists comply with reporting obligations under the Lobbying Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. 44, s. 7) and its related Regulations, which came into force simultaneously on July 2, 2008.
Since that date, associations, corporations, non-profits, consulting companies, and individuals with an interest in affecting government policy and decision-making, have been under an increased burden to comply with more frequent and more detailed reporting requirements. Many communications between lobbyists and government officials must now be reported to the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada (OCL) on a monthly basis.
In response to this increased complexity, AIMS has developed its LCM system (more at www.aims-sgir.com), to enable users to collect and organize information on lobbying activities across their organization, and produce a single, consolidated, set of information to be presented to the OCL.
“Violating the Lobbying Act is a serious offence. Fines can be up to $200,000 and/or you could go to jail for up to 2 years. Individuals or organizations could be prohibited from lobbying for up to 2 years. And whether or not you are prosecuted, all investigations must be publicly reported to Parliament.” said Mark Leahy, President of AIMS.
"The Lobbying Compliance Manager was born from AIMS’s desire to provide easy-to-use tools to enable organizations to comply with the new lobbying disclosure rules" said Thomas Legault, Vice-President. "With the global recession we are currently facing, many organizations may now be increasing their contacts with the federal government to try to increase their influence. These contacts need to be tracked carefully to avoid violating the new lobbying disclosure rules."
"We encourage organizations to try the Lobbying Compliance Manager" added Leahy and Legault. "Contact us for a free demo of the solution.”
ABOUT Advocacy Information Management Systems, Inc. (AIMS)
Advocacy Information Management Systems, Inc. (AIMS) is based in the National Capital Area. AIMS develops software and systems pertaining to advocacy and lobbying. AIMS is the culmination of a collective 45 years of experience in systems, software, communications, technology, and design expertise. AIMS knowledge in the realms of government communications and technology has made their LCM system a leader in this space.
Contact Information
Mark Leahy, President
2742 St. Joseph Blvd.
Suite 201
Ottawa, Ontario
K1C 1G5
Tel: (613) 841-8484
mark.leahy@aims-sgir.com