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.

On February 15, 2019, the Commissioner of Canada Elections entered into a compliance agreement with Mrs. Beina Zhu, pursuant to section 517 of the Canada Elections Act. The text of the compliance agreement is set out in full below.

February 19, 2019

Compliance agreement

Pursuant to section 517 of the Canada Elections Act (the Act), the Commissioner of Canada Elections (the Commissioner) and Beina Zhu (the Contracting Party) enter into this agreement aimed at ensuring compliance with the Act.

The relevant provisions of the Act are paragraphs 497(1)(d) and (2)(c), which make it an offence to contravene subsection 366(1) of the Act by failing to issue a receipt for contributions of more than $20.

Statements by the Contracting Party

For the purpose of this compliance agreement, the Contracting Party acknowledges the following:

• The Contracting Party was the official agent for Conservative Party of Canada candidate Mohammad Zamir (the candidate) in the electoral district of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun for the purposes of the 2015 federal general election, and as such, was responsible for administering the candidate's financial transactions for his electoral campaign.
• On July 8, 2015, August 17, 2015, and August 28, 2015, the candidate's campaign held fundraising events for the purposes of the 2015 federal general election. The Contracting Party was present at these three events.
• During these fundraising events, the Contracting Party accepted contributions of more than $20 from 72 individuals, for a total of $3,950, and did not issue a receipt for any of these contributions.
• Subsection 366(1) of the Act requires that the official agent of a candidate issue a receipt for each contribution of more than $20.
• The Contracting Party acknowledges and accepts responsibility for this omission.
• The Contracting Party understands that acknowledgement of non-compliance does not constitute a guilty plea in the criminal sense and that no record of conviction is created as a result of admitting responsibility for acts that could constitute an offence.
• The Contracting Party acknowledges that the Commissioner has advised her of her right to be represented by counsel and she has had the opportunity to retain and instruct counsel.

Factors considered by the Commissioner

In entering into this compliance agreement, the Commissioner took into account the factors set out in paragraph 32 of the Compliance and Enforcement Policy of the Commissioner of Canada Elections, including the following factors:

• That the Contracting Party was cooperative with investigators and has no prior history of contravening the Act;
• That the Contracting Party was not aware or did not understand the political financing rules despite having attended the training on the tasks required of an official agent;
• That the Conservative Party of Canada has, on behalf of the candidate's campaign, paid to the Receiver General the amount of anonymous contributions that had been accepted.

Agreement

The Contracting Party will comply with the relevant provisions of the Act in the future.

The Contracting Party consents to the publication of this agreement on the Commissioner's website in accordance with section 521 of the Act.

The Commissioner acknowledges that the Contracting Party fully cooperated with the Commissioner's investigation into this matter.

Pursuant to subsection 517(8) of the Act, the Commissioner and the Contracting Party recognize that once this agreement is entered into, the Commissioner will be prevented from referring this matter for prosecution to the Director of Public Prosecutions unless there is non-compliance with the terms of the compliance agreement, and in any event, the Director of Public Prosecutions cannot institute such a prosecution unless non-compliance has been established.