Joint Compliance Audit Committee

The City of Burlington, the Town of Oakville, the Town of Halton Hills, and the Regional Municipality of Halton have established a Joint Compliance Audit Committee.

This Committee is required by the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (the Act) to:

• Consider applications for compliance audit of the campaign finances of Candidates and/or Registered Third Parties and decide whether they should be granted or rejected. If an application is granted, appoint an Auditor to conduct a compliance audit of the Candidate’s and/or Registered Third Party’s election campaign finances
• Consider the Auditor’s report and if the report contains a conclusion of apparent contravention of the Act, decide whether to commence a legal proceeding against the Candidate and/or Registered Third Party for the apparent contravention
• Receive and consider report(s) from the Clerk identifying any contributors to a Candidate and/or Registered Third Party who appear to have contravened established contribution limits and decide whether to commence a legal proceeding against the contributor for the apparent contravention.

Requesting an audit

To file an application for a compliance audit request of a Candidate’s and/or Registered Third Party’s election campaign finances:

• An elector who is entitled to vote in an election and believes on reasonable grounds that a Candidate and/or Registered Third Party has contravened a provision of the Act relating to election campaign finances is required to complete the application for Election Compliance Audit providing reasons and supporting documentation.
• The application for a compliance audit for a Candidate and/or Registered Third Party and any supporting documentation must be filed with the Clerk at: City of Burlington, 426 Brant St., P.O. Box 5013, Burlington, ON  L7R 3Z6

The Act provides that an application for a compliance audit for the Oct. 24, 2022 election must be made within 90 days after the latest of the following dates:

• The filing date under section 88.30 – Friday March 31, 2023, by 2 p.m.
• The date the Candidate and/or Registered Third Party filed a financial statement, if the statement was filed within 30 days after the March 31, 2023, filing date
• The Candidate and/or Registered Third Party’s supplementary filing date, if any, under section 88.30 – Friday Sept. 29, 2023, by 2 p.m.
• The date on which Candidate and/or Registered Third Party’s extension, if any under subsection 88.23(6) or 88.27(3) expires.

Dates and details on filing of financial statements, including grace periods and extensions can be found on the Ministry of Municipal Affairs website.

Requests for audits for school board candidates must be filed with the applicable school board.

Application for a Compliance Audit

Audit Process

Within 30 days after receiving the application, the Compliance Audit Committee will consider the application and determine if an audit is required or if the application is rejected.

The decision of the Committee regarding whether an audit is required or if the application is rejected, may be appealed to the Ontario Court of Justice within 15 days after the decision is made.

If the Committee grants the audit, the auditor will conduct the audit to determine if the Candidate or Registered Third Party has complied with the requirements of the Municipal Elections Act with regard to election campaign finances.

The auditor will provide a report to the Clerk, the Candidate or Registered Third Party and the Applicant.

The committee will consider the report within 30 days of receiving it and determines whether legal proceedings should be commenced against the Candidate or Registered Third Party.

Joint Compliance Audit Committee Meetings