Item - 2024.EA13.1

The Compliance Audit Committee considered the apparent contraventions identified in the audit report prepared by BDO Canada LLP, of the election campaign finances of Lorenzo Berardinetti and has decided not to commence a legal proceeding against the candidate for the apparent contraventions.

1. As a preliminary matter, the Compliance Audit Committee (the “Committee”) considered the request and approved the request to redact personal information of the candidate Lorenzo Berardinetti (the “Candidate”) contained in the:

a. Compliance Audit Report (the “Report”) and presentation slide deck (the “Presentation”) from BDO Canada LLP (the “Auditor”), who conducted a review of the election campaign finances of the Candidate, and

b. Candidate’s written submission in part, dated November 8, 2024.

2. The Committee has a strong interest in ensuring that hearings are open to the public. However, the principle of open hearings must be balanced with the competing interest of protecting privacy and security of any person.

3. In this matter, to protect the candidate’s personal information and in accordance with section 9 of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, the Committee has approved that redacting the following information from any hearing document and keeping it confidential will cause no prejudice to the public:

· Report – Page 4 and 5 – a sentence in the Approach section

· Report – Page 5 – a sentence in the Candidate’s Response section

· Presentation – Slide 6, bullet 1

· Presentation – Slide 7, bullet 1

· Candidate’s written submission dated November 8, 2024 – in part.

4. The Compliance Audit Committee met on November 12, 2024, to hear Item EA13.1 – Compliance Audit Report for the City of Toronto Re: Lorenzo Berardinetti. The Candidate was a candidate in the City of Toronto’s 2022 municipal election.

5. Section 88.33(12) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 requires the Auditor to promptly conduct an audit of the Candidate’s election campaign finances to determine whether they have complied with the provisions of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 relating to election campaign finances and shall prepare a report outlining any apparent contravention by the candidate.

6. The Auditor’s report, dated October 15, 2024, identified that the Candidate did not comply with the requirements of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 in that the Candidate did not file a copy of the Financial Statement by the required filing deadline of March 31, 2023 or by the extended filing deadline of May 1, 2023 as set out in section 88.25 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996.

7. The Candidate appeared virtually and provided information to the Committee. The Candidate explained that through his submission, he provided his reasons, which were considered by the Committee.

8. The Applicant did not provide submissions or attend at the hearing.

9. For the reasons stated below, the Compliance Audit Committee has decided not to commence a legal proceeding against the Candidate for the contravention of Section 88.25 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996.

10. The Committee is not bound to commence proceedings in the face of a breach or contravention of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. The Committee is entitled to look at

all of the circumstances to determine whether legal proceedings should be commenced. This has been recognized by the courts in Lancaster v. Compliance Audit Committee et al., 2012 ONSC 5629.

11. Consequently, the Committee has determined it is not in the public interest to commence a proceeding against the Candidate.

The Compliance Audit Committee recessed its public session to meet in closed session to deliberate in private on Item EA13.1 - Compliance Audit Report for the City of Toronto Re: Lorenzo Berardinetti, as it pertains to personal matters about an identifiable individual.

Peter Hearn, BDO Canada LLP, gave a presentation on Report on Municipal Election Compliance Audit of the Campaign Finances of Candidate Lorenzo Berardinetti.

The Compliance Audit Committee recessed its public session to meet in closed session to deliberate in private on Item EA13.1 - Compliance Audit Report for the City of Toronto Re: Lorenzo Berardinetti and to receive advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege.

Final Compliance Audit Report from BDO Canada LLP for candidate Lorenzo Berardinetti. Agenda materials will be made available at the meeting.