Item - 2019.EA4.3

The Compliance Audit Committee:

Denied the application for a compliance audit.

1. The Compliance Audit Committee met on July 24, 2019 to hear Item EA4.3 the Compliance Audit Application of Roland Lin for a compliance audit of the Election Campaign Finances of the Respondent, Norm Kelly.

2. Roland Lin, the Applicant, appeared before the Committee and provided submissions related to the Application.

3. The Applicant provided information to the Committee to support the Applicant’s belief that the Respondent contravened provisions of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (the "Act") relating to election campaign finances.

4. The Applicant raised concerns relating to the Respondent’s compliance with the Act. These include matters relating to the cost of holding a fund-raising function and a campaign reception. The Applicant raised concerns that receipts were not filed along with the financial statements. The Applicant also raised concerns that some contributors were not appropriately recorded but conceded that he had made errors and included the names of contributors to other candidates in his submissions.

5. The Committee then provided the Respondent's counsel with the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Respondent. The Respondent's counsel spoke to the issues raised in the Application.

6. The Respondent's counsel conceded that some minor errors resulted in some receipts being inadvertently included in the Respondent's financial statement. The Respondent conceded that these errors resulted in breaches of the Act. The Respondent has made efforts to remedy these issues upon becoming aware of the errors, including disclosure of the corrections and payment to the City Clerk in the amount of the surplus of $884.29 that would have existed if the improper receipts had not been included. In the submission of the Respondent's counsel, while this may be a contravention of the Act, the error was minor. The Committee is satisfied with the submissions made by the Respondent's counsel on this issue.

7. The Respondent's counsel explained to the Committee how the Act does not include the cost of the Respondent's fund-raising function as part of a candidate's General Spending Limit. The Respondent's counsel confirmed for the Committee that the General Spending Limit was not exceeded by the Respondent.

8. Additionally, the Respondent's counsel provided further clarification that the Applicant's concerns relating to the failure to file receipts is not a requirement of the Act and cannot be considered a breach of the Respondent's obligations as a candidate.

9. The Respondent's counsel confirmed based on his knowledge that the $123,500.00 recorded as total contributions in the Financial Statement included the contributions received at the fund-raising event that was raised by the Applicant.

10. The Committee has discretion to determine whether to grant or reject an application. Due to the minor nature of the breaches and the Respondent's actions to try to correct the breaches a compliance audit is not warranted. The Respondent's counsel provided satisfactory information to respond to the other issues raised by the Applicant.

11. For the reasons stated above and in accordance with s. 88.33(7) of the Act the Committee shall reject the Compliance Audit Application of Roland Lin for a compliance audit of the Election Campaign Finances of the Respondent, Norm Kelly.

The Compliance Audit Committee recessed its public session to meet in closed session to deliberate in private on Item EA4.3 - Compliance Audit Application by Roland Lin for the Election Campaign Finances of Norm Kelly and to receive advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege.

Application for a Compliance Audit received June 25, 2019 from Applicant Roland Lin for candidate Norm Kelly for City Councillor Ward 22 Scarborough-Agincourt.