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 September 13, 2018, the Commissioner of Canada Elections entered into a compliance agreement with Mr. Gilbert Chiasson, pursuant to section 517 of the Canada Elections Act. The text of the compliance agreement is set out in full below.

September 20, 2018

Compliance Agreement

Under section 517 of the Canada Elections Act (the Act), the Commissioner of Canada Elections (the Commissioner) and Gilbert Chiasson (the Contracting Party) entered into this compliance agreement to ensure compliance with the Act.

The relevant provisions of the Act are subsections 477.3(1) and 477.44(2) as well as paragraph 497.4(2)(a), which make it an offence for a person to act as the auditor for a candidate while ineligible to act in that capacity.     

Statements by the Contracting Party

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

• The Contracting Party acknowledges that he acted as an auditor for Riba Girouard‑Riordon, who was a candidate in the Acadie—Bathurst (New Brunswick) electoral district during the 42nd federal general election held on October 19, 2015. 
• The Contracting Party acknowledges that he was not eligible to act as the auditor for Ms. Girouard-Riordon because he was not a member in good standing of a corporation, association or institute of professional accountants, in accordance with the Act.
• The Contracting Party acknowledges that he audited the candidate's electoral campaign return and prepared a report to her official agent, declaring that the candidate's electoral campaign return presented fairly the information contained in the financial records on which the return was based.
• The Contracting Party acknowledges having received from the Receiver General for Canada an amount of $310.55 as professional fees paid out of public monies for the work completed in the capacity of auditor for the candidate, while he was not eligible to act as such.  
• The Contracting Party acknowledges and accepts responsibility for these acts.
• The Contracting Party understands that acknowledgement of his responsibility does not constitute a guilty plea in the criminal sense and that no record of conviction is created.
• The Contracting Party acknowledges that the Commissioner has advised him of his right to be represented by counsel and has given him an opportunity to obtain counsel.

Factors considered by the Commissioner:

The Commissioner decided to offer to settle this file with the Contracting Party through a compliance agreement after taking into account the factors set out in paragraph 32 of the Compliance and Enforcement Policy of the Commissioner of Canada Elections, which is available on the Commissioner's website. More specifically, the Commissioner took into account the fact that the Contracting Party quickly cooperated with the investigation, acknowledged the facts and expressed remorse.  

Undertaking and agreement

Under this compliance agreement, the Contracting Party undertakes to repay the Receiver General for Canada the amount of $310.55, which was paid to him as auditor's fees, by sending to the Office of the Commissioner, no later than 14 days after the publication of the compliance agreement on the Commissioner's website, a cheque for the same amount made payable to the Receiver General for Canada.   

The Contracting Party consents to the publication of this compliance agreement on the Commissioner's website.

The Commissioner agrees that the Contracting Party will have complied with this compliance agreement when he has satisfied the undertaking contained therein.

In accordance with subsection 517(8) of the Act, the Commissioner and the Contracting Party acknowledge that, once this compliance agreement is entered into, the Commissioner may not refer the 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 is established.