The Joint Compliance Audit Committee is jointly established by the City of Clarence-Rockland, the Township of Champlain, the Township of East-Hawkesbury, the Town of Hawkesbury, the Nation Municipality, the Township of Russell, the Municipality of Casselman and the Township of Alfred-Plantagenet (collectively "the participating municipalities"), in accordance with the requirements of section 88.37 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 , S.O. c.32, as amended (the "Municipal Elections Act")
1. Mandate
The powers and functions of the committee are set out in sections 88.33 to 88.36 of the Municipal Elections Act. The powers and duties are generally described as:
- Within 30 days of receipt of an application or report from the Clerk requesting a compliance audit, the Committee shall consider the compliance audit application and decide whether it should be granted or rejected;
- The decision of the Committee to grant or reject the application, and brief written reasons for the decision, shall be given to the candidate, the clerk with whom the candidate filed his or her nomination, the secretary of the local board, if applicable, and the applicant;
- If the application is granted, the Committee shall appoint an auditor to conduct a compliance audit of the candidate’s election campaign finances;
- The Committee will review the auditor’s report within 30 days of receipt and decide whether legal proceedings should be commenced;
- The decision of the committee further to the receipt of the auditor’s report, and brief written reasons for the decision, shall be given to the candidate, the clerk with whom the candidate filed his or her nomination, the secretary of the local board, if applicable, and the applicant.
2. Composition
Collectively, a total roster of five committee members shall be appointed by the participating municipalities.
When a participating municipality receives either a compliance audit request or a report of the Clerk, the Clerk of the applicable municipality shall, within 10 days, contact the roster of committee members and arrange for a minimum of three committee members to sit as the Compliance Audit Committee for the purpose of considering the compliance audit request or report of the Clerk. The selected Members sitting as a Compliance Audit Committee shall be required to participate in all meetings and any other proceedings pertaining to the request(s) or report of the Clerk.
3. Term
The term of the Committee is the same as the terms of office of Council.
4. Chair
The committee members sitting as the Committee for a particular compliance audit request or report of the Clerk shall select one of its Members to act as a Chair at the first meeting.
5. Staffing and Funding
Staff from the applicable participating municipality shall provide administrative support to the Committee. The participating municipality requiring the services of the Committee shall be responsible for all associated expenses.
6. Records
The records of Committee meetings shall be retained and preserved by the participating municipality requesting the service of the Committee in accordance with that municipality’s Records Retention rules.
7. Meetings
The Clerk shall call a meeting of the Committee when he or she receives an application for a Compliance Audit. The Applicant and the Candidate will be provided with an opportunity to address the Committee and provide written submissions.
Meeting dates, start times, and locations shall be set by the Clerk.
Committee meetings will be conducted in accordance with the open meeting provisions of the Municipal Act, 2001 and the administrative practices and procedures developed by the Clerks.
8. Notice
Posting of the Committee meeting agenda on the website of the participating municipality requiring the services of the Committee shall constitute notice of a Committee meeting.
The Clerk shall give notice of a Committee meeting to the Committee by email, telephone or by regular mail.
Where an application will be considered at the meeting, the Clerk shall give reasonable notice by email, telephone or by regular mail to the Applicant and Candidate of the time, place and purpose of the Committee meeting, and of the fact that if either party fails to attend the meeting, the Committee may proceed in the party’s absence and the party will not be entitled to further notice concerning the meeting.
9. Quorum
A quorum shall be three (3) Committee members.
If a quorum is not present within fifteen (15) minutes of the time fixed for the commencement of the meeting, the Committee meeting will be rescheduled to a future date.
10. Duties of the Chair
The Chair shall:
- call Committee meetings to order when there is a Quorum, preside over Committee discussions, facilitate Committee business, follow meeting procedures, identify the order of proceedings and speakers and rule on points of order;
- participate as an active member, encouraging participation by all members.
The Chair is permitted to provide brief comments during discussion, make motions and vote on all matters.
If the Chair is not present within the first ten minutes of a Committee meeting or is absent through illness or otherwise, the Committee shall select another member as Acting Chair. While presiding, the Acting Chair shall have all the powers of the Chair. Selection of the Acting Chair will be made by resolution.
11. Duties of Committee Members
The duties of Committee members are as follows:
- attend all Committee meetings, sending regrets otherwise;
- understand their role, the Committee's mandate and meeting procedures;
- declare any pecuniary interest in any matter prior to consideration by the Committee and refrain from discussion and voting on the matter. If the declaration relates to a matter being discussed during a closed portion of the meeting, the member must leave the meeting during all discussions on the matter;
- where the pecuniary interest of a member has not been disclosed by reason of the member's absence from the meeting, the member shall disclose the pecuniary interest and otherwise comply with subsection (c) at the first meeting of the Committee attended by the member after the meeting referred to in subsection (c);
- participate as an active and voting member, asking questions, and seeking clarification through the Chair;
- develop and maintain a climate of mutual support, trust, courtesy and respect;
- work together to utilize the knowledge, expertise and talents of all members;
- respect the decisions of the Committee and that such decisions reflect the majority view.
12. Motions
All motions must be introduced by a mover before the Chair can put the motion on the floor for consideration. A seconder is not required.
After a motion is properly moved, it shall be deemed to be in the possession of the Committee but may be withdrawn by the mover at any time before a vote with the consent of the Committee.
The number of times a member may speak on a motion shall not be limited.
A member shall not be restricted to asking questions only of the previous speaker, but the question must relate directly to the matter under discussion.
A motion to move a previous motion shall not be allowed.
Any member may require the motion under discussion to be read at any time, but not so as to interrupt a member while speaking.
When a motion is under consideration, no motion shall be received other than a motion to:
- Adjourn, which motion is neither amendable nor debatable;
- Defer action;
- Amend.
Only one amendment at a time can be presented to the main motion.
Only one amendment can be presented to an amendment, but when the amendment to the amendment has been disposed of, another amendment may be introduced, and when that amendment has been decided, another may be introduced.
The amendment to the amendment, if any, shall be voted on first, then if no other amendment is presented, the amendment shall be voted on next, then if no other amendment is introduced, the main motion, or if any amendment has carried, the main motion as amended, shall be put to a vote.
Nothing in this section shall prevent other proposed amendments being read for the information of the members.
When the motion under consideration contains distinct propositions, upon the request of any member, the vote upon each proposition shall be taken separately.
After the Chair commences to take a vote, no member shall speak to or present another motion until the vote has been taken on such motion, amendment or sub-amendment.
After any matter has been decided by the Committee, any member may move for reconsideration at the same meeting, but no discussion of the motion that has been decided shall be allowed until the motion for reconsideration has been carried.
All motions not disposed of shall be placed on the agenda for the next meeting of the Committee, subject to any deadlines imposed by the Act.
13. Voting
When an issue arises, the Committee will attempt to reach a consensus on how the Committee should resolve the issue.
If a consensus cannot be attained, a motion before the Committee will be put to a vote and each Committee member will be entitled to one vote.
A motion shall be deemed to be carried when a majority of the members present and voting have expressed agreement with the motion. Consequently, on a tie vote, the motion is lost.
Recorded votes are not permitted.
14. Declaration of interests
Legislated requirements as set out in the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act shall apply to all Committee members. It is the responsibility of each member to disclose any pecuniary interest prior to discussion of a particular matter. Members are encouraged to seek independent legal advice if they are unsure of whether or not they have a pecuniary interest in a matter. Staff from the Participating Municipalities will not provide advice or interpretation related to declarations.
15. Remuneration
$400 -Retainer fee (includes compensation for review of any background materials and mandatory training session).
$100 -Per Diem rate, plus mileage at $0.73 per kilometer.
16. Membership Selection
All Committee applicants will be required to complete an application form outlining their qualifications and experience.
To avoid possible conflicts of interest, any auditor or accountant appointed to the Committee must agree, in writing, not to undertake the audits or the preparation of financial statements of any candidate seeking election to Councils in the Participating Municipalities during the term of the Committee.
The Clerk, or his/her designate, from each participating municipality will serve on the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee shall meet to review all applications based upon the approved selection criteria. The Selection Committee shall prepare a roster for appointments according to the process approved by the Councils of the participating municipalities.
17. Membership Selection Criteria
Information pertaining to the Committee, including the terms of reference and an application for appointment to the Committee will be posted on the websites of the participating municipalities.
Committee members will be drawn from the following groups:
- Accounting and audit – accountants or auditors, preferably with experience in preparing or auditing the financial statements of municipal candidates;
- Academic – college or university professors with expertise in political science or local government administration;
- Legal; and
- Other individuals with knowledge of the campaign financing provisions of the Act.
The following skills and experience will be used by the Selection Committee to determine suitability for appointments to the Committee:
- Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of municipal election campaign financing rules;
- Proven analytical and decision-making skills;
- Experience working on committees, task forces or similar settings;
- Demonstrated knowledge of quasi-judicial proceedings;
- Availability and willingness to attend meetings; and
- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
Pursuant to section 88.37 of the Act, the following persons are not eligible for appointment or to serve on the Committee:
- Employees or officers of any participating municipalities or local boards;
- Members of council or members of local boards of any of the participating municipalities;
- Any persons who are candidates for the 2026 Municipal Election and any by-election(s) held during the 2026- 2030 term; or
- Any persons who are registered third parties in any of the participating municipalities.
