Compliance Agreements

Commissioner Of Canada Elections

Canada Elections Act

Compliance agreement

This notice is published by the Commissioner of Canada Elections pursuant to section 521 of the Canada Elections Act, S.C. 2000, c. 9.

In accordance with section 517 of the Canada Elections Act, on August 21, 2015, the Commissioner of Canada Elections entered into a compliance agreement with Michel Roy. The text of the compliance agreement is set out in full below.

August 21, 2015

Yves Côté, QC

Commissioner of Canada Elections

COMPLIANCE AGREEMENT

Pursuant to section 517 of the Canada Elections Act (the Act), the Commissioner of Canada Elections and Mr. Michel Roy (the Contracting Party), a resident of the province of Quebec, enter into this compliance agreement.

As a result of amendments to the Act that came into force on December 19, 2014, all the sections in the part of the Act governing political financing were renumbered. This compliance agreement refers to the sections as they existed at the time of the acts committed by the Contracting Party.

The Contracting Party was the official agent of the electoral campaign of Pierre Lacroix, a Conservative Party candidate in the riding of Trois-Rivières, at the time of the federal general election of May 2, 2011.

Subsection 451(1) of the Act required the official agent of an electoral campaign to provide the Chief Electoral Officer with an electoral campaign return, the auditor's report and the declarations of the official agent and the candidate attesting that the electoral campaign return complied with the Act. The electoral campaign return had to contain the information prescribed in subsection 451(2) of the Act, including a complete statement of expenses and statement of contributions for the electoral campaign.

Paragraph 463(1)(b) of the Act stated that no candidate or official agent of an electoral campaign shall provide an electoral campaign return that does not substantially set out the information required by subsection 451(2) of the Act.

Non-compliance with this prohibition could constitute an offence under paragraph 497(1)(y) or 497(3)(v) of the Act.

The undersigned Contracting Party acknowledges his responsibility for the acts that constitute an offence under paragraph 463(1)(b) of the Act.

The acts and facts constituting the offence are as follows:

• On October 28, 2011, in his capacity as official agent, the Contracting Party provided the Chief Electoral Officer with a campaign return containing his and the candidate's declaration as well as the auditor's report.
• The campaign return showed revenues of $2,500 and expenses of $2,898.10. In fact, these amounts represented only the candidate's personal expenses.
• Following five subsequent revisions of the electoral campaign return to report the missing information that was required by subsection 451(2) of the Act, the final campaign return showed revenues of $51,817 and expenses of $48,242.18.
• Given that the initial campaign return contained only information about the candidate's personal expenses, on the face of the document, it is clear that this information represented only a fraction of the information required under subsection 451(2) of the Act.
• The auditor's report on the campaign return, which had also been provided as required by subsection 451(2), clearly indicated that the candidate's campaign return, in its entirety, was incomplete.
• The Contracting Party nonetheless signed the declaration stating that to the best of his knowledge and belief, the information in the campaign return was accurate and that all the electoral expenses related to the conduct or administration of the election had been properly recorded therein.
• Contrary to paragraph 463(1)(b) of the Act, the Contracting Party provided an incomplete campaign return to the Chief Electoral Officer. He provided the return without reading the auditor's report or reviewing the campaign return prior to signing the solemn declaration stating that the campaign return was complete.

The Contracting Party acknowledges that he provided the Chief Electoral Officer with a campaign return that did not substantially set out the information prescribed in subsection 451(2) of the Act. The Contracting Party also acknowledges that this constitutes an act prohibited by paragraph 463(1)(b) of the Act, and an offence under paragraph 497(1)(y) or 497(3)(v) of the Act.

The Contracting Party sincerely regrets committing the alleged acts and understands the importance and seriousness of his acts. The Contracting Party now knows that he should not have provided the Chief Electoral Officer with a campaign return that did not substantially set out the information prescribed by subsection 451(2) of the Act.

The Contracting Party also acknowledges that, in accordance with paragraph 517(3)(a) of the Act, the office of the Commissioner advised him of his right to be represented by counsel and gave him the opportunity to exercise that right.

In accordance with section 521 of the Act, the Contracting Party consents to the publication by the Commissioner of a notice including his name, the alleged facts and the text of the compliance agreement, with the exception of the parties' signatures.

The Commissioner of Canada Elections acknowledges the excellent collaboration of the Contracting Party during the investigation in this case.

It is understood that the admissions made in this compliance agreement do not constitute a guilty plea in the criminal sense and that no record of conviction is created as a result of admitting responsibility for the activity that constitutes an offence.