Request for Compliance Audits
Presentation to the Committee of the Whole
By Joanna Chapman, July 14, 2004

There are three matters which I would like to address: Why I became involved in the research which has led to requests of Compliance Audits. How I went about the research, and what I would like Council to do.

First the why. I care a lot about Municipal politics. I served on Dundas Council for about 5 years. I learned that the issues that most directly effect people's lives are decided locally. I learned that a community is a complex organism and that to keep it healthy requires work on many fronts.

I was concerned about an article which I read at the end of May. The article suggested that a number of the donations to Larry DiIanni's campaign violated the Municipal Elections Act. I felt that the article must be wrong, so I began to check the facts for myself. To my surprise, I discovered that not only was the article largely correct, but that it reflected what seemed to be only a small part of the problem.

When I had checked contributions to Larry DiIanni's campaign I thought I was being unfair and thus checked donations to all candidates. Some candidates seemed to have no infractions whatever, some accepted no corporate contributions at all, and some were borderline. For instance Sam Merulla's donations from West Town Bar & Grill & Funky Munky which do not seem to be corporations, but simply operating names. The candidates I have named all appeared to have what I viewed as more serious infractions of the Municipal elections Act.

In order to attempt to verify what seemed to be infractions of the Municipal Elections Act, I have used several sources - phone calls to companies, internet searches and corporate profile searches. On Larry DiIanni's I wondered why there were so many numbered companies - 20 or so - and so many out of town donations - approximately 75 - so I tried to answer my questions.

I can see that some of the over contributions were tickets purchased for fundraisers. However, the MEA is clear that the maximum donation is $750.00 from one donor, and no more. The act does not say $750.00 - plus you can spend $500 additional on a couple of tickets to a fundraiser. All candidates knew the rules. Especially a seasoned politician with a professional campaign staff knew the rules.

I did my research because I believe that local government must be accountable and accessible to all electors and not just to a small group. A campaign that appears to have been funded almost entirely by the development industry and has what appear to be multiple violations of the MEA is not fair to the electors nor to the other candidates.

Now you know my why and how.

I would urge Committee and Council to allow these Compliance Audits to proceed, and further that they should not be limited to the specific examples I have noted - all contributions to each named candidate should be thoroughly examined. I am aware that a candidate's financial records have been examined by an auditor, but the scope of the audit is very limited indeed. The auditor actually signs a statement which says " the Municipal Elections Act does not require me to report, neither was it practicable for me to determine, that contributions include only those which may be properly retained in accordance with the Municipal Elections Act" The onus is on the candidate not the auditor.

The onus is also on the electors to make sure that candidates play by the rules. A compliance audit would examine whether each donation actually complies with the MEA - A compliance audit has the sweeping powers of a commission under the Public Inquiries Act. I hope that Committee and Council will support my request, and ask that any discussion is held in public and not 'in camera'. Faith in the electoral process is related to the belief that the rules are being followed and that complaints will be dealt with openly, not behind closed doors. The reasons for 'in camera' meetings are very limited and none would appear to apply to my requests for compliance audits of elections donations to candidates who ran in the 2003 Municipal Election.