Compliance Audit Committee

1. Within 30 days receipt of a compliance audit application by an elector, consider the application and decide whether it should be granted or rejected;
2. Appoint a licensed auditor, if the application is granted;
3. Receive the auditor’s report;
4. Within 30 days receipt of the auditor’s report, consider the report;
5. If the report concludes that the candidate appears to have contravened a provision of the Act relating to election campaign finances and the Committee finds that there were no reasonable grounds for the application, Council may recover the audit costs from the applicant.
6. If the report concludes that the candidate does not appear to have contravened a provision of the Act relating to election campaign finances and the Committee finds that there were no reasonable grounds for the application, Council may recover the audit costs from the applicant.
7. Consider the Clerk’s report on whether any candidate or Third Party Advertiser exceeded the campaign limits.

1. Accounting and audit – accountants or auditors with experience in preparing or auditing the financial statements of municipal candidates;
2. Legal;
3. Professionals who in the course of their duties are required to adhere to codes or standards of their profession which may be enforced by disciplinary tribunals; and/or
4. Other individuals with knowledge of the campaign financing rules of the Municipal Election Act, 1996.

An elector, who is entitled to vote in an election and believes on reasonable grounds that a candidate or Third Party Advertiser has contravened a provision of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 relating to election campaign finances, may apply for a compliance audit of the candidate’s or Third Party Advertiser’s campaign finances.

To file an application for an election compliance audit request of a candidate's or a Registered Third Party’s election campaign finances, an eligible elector is required to complete the City of Stratford Application for Election Compliance Audit form and provide reasons for belief and any supporting documentation.

An application for mayor or councillor candidate and Registered Third Party must be filed with the City Clerk at:

City Clerk's Office,
City Hall, Ground Floor
1 Wellington Street 
Stratford, Ontario  N5A 6W1

The Act provides that the application for the October 22, 2018 Election must be made within 90 days after the latest of the following dates:

• The filing date under section 88.30 - Friday March 29, 2019 by 2:00 pm
• 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.
• The candidate’s or registered third party’s supplementary filing date, if any, under section 88.30 - Friday September 27, 2019 by 4:30 pm
• The date on which the candidate’s or registered third party’s extension, if any, under subsection 88.23 (6) or 88.27(3) expires.