After a lengthy discussion, the City of Ottawa’s election compliance audit committee voted Tuesday afternoon not to prosecute Capital ward Coun. Shawn Menard for failing to accurately report campaign finances by $310.98.
Committee chair Timothy Cullen said the committee agreed with the auditor’s conclusion, which stated there was an apparent violation of the Municipal Elections Act.
However, Cullen said Menard’s campaign expenses were within the spending limit set out in the Municipal Elections Act, which the audit report also noted.
“In the particular circumstances before us, the committee considers the apparent violation to be de minimis (too small to be considered) and that commencing legal proceedings is not warranted … The dollar amount, $310.98, is fairly low,” Cullen said.
“The under-reporting did not result in Mr. Menard exceeding the maximum contribution limit for a candidate and/or spouse.”
The committee’s decision came after an independent audit by OXARO found that Menard had understated his election-sign expenses for the 2022 campaign.
According to the report,
the amount recorded in Menard’s campaign financial statements was “inaccurate and is an apparent non-compliance” of the Municipal Elections Act because he did not adequately report that he reused leftover materials from 2018.
The audit found Menard filed $1,412.50 for election expenses for 250 small signs from the 2018 campaign when he should have filed $1,723.48 for 240 small signs and 10 large signs, a difference of $310.98.
However, despite that irregularity, the auditors said, Menard did not exceed the Municipal Elections Act spending limits. According to Menard’s campaign filing, he spent $27,199.10, and the recalculation increased that to $27,508.90.
Municipal election candidates are permitted to reuse leftover materials such as campaign signs or office supplies, but they must establish current market value for those materials based on what it would cost to purchase them again, and that current market value must be filed as a campaign expense.
The OXARO report also noted this was the only inaccuracy in Menard’s campaign financial statement. It did not recommend any penalties because that was the committee’s responsibility.
The audit is the latest development in an application filed back in 2022 by Edward (Ted) Phillips, a retired Taggart executive, for election spending audits for Menard, Osgoode ward candidate Doug Thompson and the advocacy group Horizon Ottawa.
John Pappas, a lawyer representing Phillips at the committee, said Tuesday that Menard should have known better.
“We’re not dealing with a neophyte or a newcomer to municipal politics. We’re dealing with an incumbent candidate who has experience running in multiple municipal elections, and, with this experience, the public would have higher expectations on a candidate,” Pappas said.
The election compliance audit committee disagreed.
“To the extent the applicant’s submissions suggest Mr. Menard, as a repeat candidate, should be held to a different standard, the committee rejects that submission,” Cullen said.
Pappas also argued that prosecution was warranted because Menard failed to accurately report his campaign expenses and contributions to his campaign, specifically contributions he made himself.
He added that, by failing to accurately report his campaign expenses, Menard undermined public confidence in the electoral process and threatened the transparency, accountability and fairness objectives set out in the Municipal Elections Act.
“This is why, as identified by the auditor, the replacement value — not the value of the purchase of those goods, but the current market value of those goods — must be included in a candidate’s financial statements,” the lawyer said at Tuesday’s meeting.
“The issues arising from the report indicate that the candidate had an advantage over other candidates because of those pre-existing campaign materials, and the fact they were used in the campaign was hidden from public scrutiny. They were not reported in the financial statements, and this threatens to hamper public confidence in the electoral process.
“That is the real issue that is before the committee.”
Initially, in July 2023, the elections compliance audit committee rejected the application to audit Menard’s campaign expenses, but the matter was taken up in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and last February Justice Calum MacLeod ordered the committee to appoint an auditor.
Menard did not deny the audit’s findings, but argued the matter should not be brought to court because there were no significant irregularities found in this case.
“The comprehensive audit in front of you speaks for itself. I respect its findings,” Menard told the committee on Tuesday.
“It’s consistent with what I’ve previously discussed with this committee … Justice MacLeod held that small irregularities may be indicative of more significant irregularities, which is why he felt the audit was appropriate.
“With no significant irregularities found in this case, it’s my contention that there is no public interest in taking this further.”
With files from Joanne Laucius
