Municipal Elections Compliance Audit Committee
Any elector who is entitled to vote in an election and believes that a candidate has contravened a provision of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (MEA) relating to election campaign finances can apply for a compliance audit of a candidate’s financial statement.

Information for an eligible elector to apply for a compliance audit of a candidate’s financial statement.

What is a Municipal Election Compliance Audit Committee?

In accordance with the MEA, Town of Caledon Council is required to have a Municipal Election Compliance Audit Committee to consider compliance audit applications with regard to Candidates’ financial statements filed under Section 81 of the MEA for the 2010 election.

What does the Compliance Audit Committee do?
The Compliance Audit Committee shall:
a) Review any applications for a compliance audit of any candidate who ran for election to Caledon Town Council, if the application was received in accordance with the legislation requirements.
b) Determine whether the application should be granted or rejected within 30 days of receipt of such application.
c) Where an application is granted, appoint an auditor licensed under the Public Accounting Act, 2004 or other prescribed person, to conduct a compliance audit of the candidate’s election campaign finances.
d) Consider the report of the auditor within 30 days of receipt and may (i) If the report concludes that the candidate appears to have contravened a provision of the MEA relating to election campaign finances, commence a legal proceeding against the candidate for the apparent contravention; or (ii) If the report concludes that the candidate does not appear to have contravened a provision of the MEA relating to election campaign finances, make a finding as to whether there were reasonable grounds for the application.

Appointments were made by Resolution 2010-446 on August 10, 2010. 

Committee Members:
David Dexter
Brenda Duncan
Paul Fairgrieve

Municipal Elections Compliance Audit Committee Terms of Reference
Compliance Audit Committee meetings – to be scheduled as required.

Compliance Audit Request Form Application

Process:

Where do I send my application?
To request a compliance audit of a municipal council candidate (mayor or councillor), the application should be sent to the Town Clerk, Town of Caledon, 6311 Old Church Road, Caledon, Ontario, L7C 1J6.  To request a compliance audit of a school board candidate, the application should be sent to the Director of the appropriate school board.

How long will it take before the application is heard?
Within 30 days of receiving this application, the Compliance Audit Committee, will consider the application and decide whether to grant it or reject it.

Will I be notified of the date?
Yes.  Both the applicant and candidate will receive, by registered mail, notification of the date when the Committee will consider the application.

What happens if the Committee grants the application?
If the Committee grants the application, they will appoint an auditor to promptly start the audit of the candidate’s election campaign finances to determine if the candidate complied with the provisions of the MEA.

What if I don’t agree with the decision of the Committee?
The decision of the Committee may be appealed to the Ontario Court of Justice within 15 days after the decision is made.

What happens once the auditor completes the audit?
Once the auditor has completed the audit, he/she will provide a report to the Committee, the Town Clerk, the candidate and the applicant.  The Committee will consider the report within 30 days of receiving it and determine whether legal proceedings should be commenced against the candidate.

Who pays for the auditor?
The Town pays for the auditor’s costs, however, if the report indicates that there were no apparent contraventions and the Committee finds that there were no reasonable grounds for the application, Council is entitled to recover the auditor costs from the applicant.