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Compliance Audit Committee

The Compliance Audit Committee is a local board of the City that receives and makes decisions on applications for compliance audits of candidates' municipal election campaign finances. The powers and functions of the committee are pursuant to the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. Under the Act, an outgoing City Council is required to establish a compliance audit committee before October 1 of an election year to address any election financing complaints received after an election is held.

Committee responsibilities

The committee is responsible for performing the functions relating to the compliance audit application process as outlined in the Municipal Elections Act. These functions include:

• considering a compliance audit application received from an elector and deciding whether it should be granted or rejected
• appointing an auditor, if the application is granted
• receiving the auditor's report
• considering the auditor's report and deciding whether legal proceedings should be commenced
• determining whether to recover the costs of conducting the compliance audit from the applicant if the auditor's report indicates there were no apparent contraventions and if there were no reasonable grounds for the application

Effective April 1, 2018, the committee is also responsible for considering reports from the City Clerk that identifies contributors who appear to have contravened any of the contribution limits for the election and deciding whether legal proceedings should be commenced.

Term of office

The term of office for the committee begins on December 1, 2018 and is four years coincident with the term of Council.

Composition

The Compliance Audit Committee consists of 3 public members. City Council also appoints 2 alternate members whose appointments only take effect upon a vacancy on the committee during its term.

Qualifications

In addition to the general eligibility requirements set out in the Public Appointments Policy, committee members should collectively represent a range of expertise and be accomplished in the following areas:

• accounting and auditing - accountants or auditors with experience in preparing or auditing the financial statements of municipal candidates
• academic - college or university professors with expertise in political science or local government administration
• legal
• other individuals with knowledge of the campaign financing rules of the Municipal Elections Act

Eligibility

All members of the public who apply to serve on the Compliance Audit Committee must satisfy the following eligibility requirements in order to be selected for appointment:

• Must be a resident of the city of Toronto;
• Must be at least 18 years old;
• Cannot be a City employee, employee of a City agency or corporation, an officer of the City, or a Member of City Council.
• Cannot be a candidate for the 2022 municipal election.
• Cannot be a registered third party advertiser for the 2022 municipal election.
• Cannot contribute to any Council candidates or third party advertisers for the 2022 municipal election.

If appointed members must agree in writing that:

• they will not provide advice to, or prepare or audit the election financial statements of any Toronto City Council candidate, any third party advertiser, or
• they will not become a candidate in the Toronto municipal election and any by-elections during the term of Council that corresponds to the term of the committee.

Meetings

The committee will meet as needed with meetings to be scheduled when a compliance audit application or a report from the City Clerk is received.

Remuneration

Public members: $1,500 annually, plus full-day per diem of $600 and half-day remuneration (3.5 hours or less) of $400 for hearings, business meetings and training sessions.

Chair: $2,500 annually, plus full-day per diem of $600 and half-day remuneration (3.5 hours or less) of $400 for hearings, business meetings and training sessions.

Related links

• Compliance Audit Committee additional information
• Compliance Audit Committee agendas and minutes