Joint Niagara Compliance Audit Committee

The Municipal Elections Act, 1996 requires each municipality and school board in Ontario to establish a compliance audit committee to consider compliance audit applications.

In 2022, the municipalities and school boards of Niagara once again partnered to establish the joint Niagara Compliance Audit Committee.

Purpose of the Committee

• To consider whether to grant or reject a compliance audit application made by an eligible elector;
• To appoint an auditor, if the application is granted;
• Receive and consider the auditor's report and decide whether legal proceedings should be commenced;
• Consider reports from the Clerk identifying contributors who appear to have contravened election contribution limits and decide whether legal proceedings should be commenced.

Powers and functions of the committee are found in the Municipal Elections Act.

Compliance Audit Applications

The compliance audit committee reviews and makes decisions on applications for compliance audits of finances for candidates and registered third party advertisers for the Municipal and School Board Elections.

An elector who is entitled to vote in an election and believes on reasonable grounds that a candidate has contravened a provision of the Municipal Elections Act relating to election campaign finances may apply for a compliance audit of the candidate’s election campaign finances, even if the candidate has not filed a financial statement.

Applications must be made within 90 days after the latest of the following dates:

1. The filing date under section 88.30 of the Municipal Elections Act (March 31, 2023, for the election held on Oct. 24, 2022).
2. The date the candidate or registered third party filed a financial statement, if the statement was filed within 30 days after the applicable filing date under section 88.30 of the Municipal Elections Act.
3. The candidate’s or registered third party supplementary filing date, if any, under section 88.30 of the Municipal Elections Act.
4. The date on which the candidate’s extension, if any, under subsection 88.23(6) of the Municipal Elections Act expires, or the date on which the registered third party’s extension, if any, under subsection 88.27(3) of the Municipal Elections Act expires.

This application must be completed and submitted to the Office of the City Clerk of the municipality or the secretary of the local board for which the candidate was nominated for office (e.g. applications that relate to a St. Catharines Mayor or City Council candidate would file with the City Clerk for St. Catharines).

Eligible Elector

In accordance with the Municipal Elections Act, an eligible elector is someone who is:

• A Canadian citizen; and
• At least 18 years old; and
• Resides in St. Catharines or is the owner or tenant of land in St. Catharines, or the spouse of such owner or tenant; and
• Not prohibited from voting under section 17(3) of the Municipal Elections Act or otherwise by law.