Compliance Audit Committee FAQs

A compliance audit is an audit of a Candidate’s or Third-Party Advertiser’s campaign finances and his/her compliance with the provisions of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, as they relate to election campaign finances. 

Copies of the required Form 4 Financial Statement for each candidate are available on the Township’s website www.scugog.ca/election. You may also request a copy from the Clerk’s Office. 

If you believe that a candidate’s or Third Party Advertiser’s campaign finances contravene the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, you may submit an Application for a Municipal Election Compliance Audit to the Township Clerk. 

In order to request a Municipal Election Compliance Audit you must be an elector who is entitled to vote i.e. you must reside in the Township of Scugog or be the owner or tenant of land therein or the spouse of such owner or tenant. You must also be a Canadian citizen, at least eighteen (18) years of age and not be prohibited from voting under subsection 17(3) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. 

The application must be made on or before June 29th, 2023, being ninety (90) days after the last date for the candidates’ and Third Party Advertisers’ filing of Financial Statements for the 2018 election or, in the case of an extension of the campaign period, within ninety (90) of the supplementary filing date.

No. However, if an audit is ordered and the report indicates there were no apparent contraventions and the Committee finds there were no reasonable grounds for the application, the Township of Scugog is entitled to recover the auditor’s fees from the applicant. 

The Application for a Municipal Election Compliance Audit form is available at the Clerk's Department at the Municipal Office, 181 Perry Street, Port Perry. 

Your application must include: 

• Notice that you are an eligible voter 
• Your name and contact information 
• Name of the candidate or Third Party Advertiser whose campaign finances you are requesting an audit for as well as the office (if candidate) for which they were running in the 2022 election 
• The reasons that you believe the candidate or Third Party Advertiser has contravened the provisions of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, as they relate to campaign finances
• Any other relevant information 
• The date that you submitted the application to the Township Clerk 
• Your signature

The application should be sent to the Township Clerk, 181 Perry Street, P.O. Box 780, Port Perry, Ontario, L9L 1A7. An application for a Compliance Audit of a school board candidate or the office of the Regional Chair should be sent to the Secretary of the appropriate School Board or the Regional Clerk for the office of the Regional Chair. Please note that applications will not be received by e-mail or fax. 

Within ten (10) days of receiving your application, the Clerk will forward it to the Compliance Audit Committee. Within thirty (30) days of receiving your application, the Compliance Audit Committee will consider the application and decide whether to grant or reject it.

Yes. The applicant, Candidate or Third Party Advertiser will receive notification of the date when the Committee will consider the application. 

If the Committee grants the application, it will appoint an auditor to promptly start the audit of the candidate’s or Third Party Advertiser’s campaign finances to determine whether they complied with the provisions of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996.

The decision of the Committee may be appealed to the Superior Court of Justice within fifteen (15) days after the decision is made. The Court may make any decision that the Committee could have made. 

Once the auditor has completed the audit, he/she will provide a report to the Township Clerk, the Candidate or Third Party Advertiser and the applicant. The Committee will consider the report within thirty (30) days of receiving it and determine whether legal proceedings against the Candidate or Third Party Advertiser should be commenced.

The Township pays for the auditor’s cost. However, if the auditor's report indicates there were no apparent contraventions and the Compliance Audit Committee finds there were no reasonable grounds for the application, the Township of Scugog is entitled to recover the auditor’s fees from the applicant. 

The Application for a Municipal Election Compliance Audit form is available from the Township of Scugog municipal office, 181 Perry Street, Port Perry.