Summary of the Notice of Violation

Name of individual, corporation or entity	George Chahal
Date of violation	September 19, 2021
Section of the Act	325(1)
Baseline amount	$500
Aggravating factor	+1
Mitigating factor	-1
AMP total amount	$500
Issued by	Deputy Commissioner

Key facts of violation

In September 2021, the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections (OCCE) received multiple complaints alleging that, on the evening of September 19, 2021, George Chahal, the then Liberal Party of Canada candidate for the electoral district of Calgary Skyview, removed another candidate's campaign flyer from a person's porch and replaced it with his own campaign flyer. These events were recorded by video, taken with a doorbell security camera. Furthermore, George Chahal admitted to OCCE investigators that he removed the other candidate's campaign flyer.

There are therefore reasonable grounds to believe that George Chahal was in violation of subsection 325(1) of the Act, the prohibition against preventing or impairing the transmission of an election advertising message without the consent of a person with authority to authorize its transmission.

The final AMP amount is $500, as it includes one mitigating and one aggravating factor. A mitigating factor was applied as George Chahal provided all reasonable assistance to the Commissioner with respect to the violation. George Chahal and his campaign team immediately and consistently cooperated with the OCCE investigation. The OCCE also applied an aggravating factor based on the circumstances. The failure for candidates to comply with the rules adopted by Parliament can contribute to a loss of public confidence in the integrity of members of the political class, which may, as a result, increase voter apathy.