Compliance Audit Committee | City of Owen Sound

Compliance Audit Committee

The Municipalities of Grey County are recruiting experienced professionals for appointment to
the Grey County Compliance Audit Committee (GCCAC) for the 2026 Municipal Election.

Purpose of the Joint Compliance Audit Committee:
A compliance audit committee makes decisions on applications for compliance audits of campaign finances for candidates and third party advertisers in a municipal election or by-election.

The committee also considers reports from municipal clerks that identify contributors who appear to have
contravened election contribution limits.

Joint Committee for Grey County Municipalities
Section 88.37 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (MEA) requires all municipalities to establish a compliance audit committee of not fewer than three members and not more than seven members. The municipalities of Grey County are establishing a joint committee of members who will serve on retainer and from whom sub-committees (Sitting Committees) will be established to address each application for a compliance audit and each instance of identified over-contribution.

Applicant Qualifications

GCCAC members should have the ability to understand and apply the
election campaign finance provisions of the MEA and must be considered
impartial with respect to their ability to fulfill their responsibilities.
Preference shall be given to those applicants with experience in
accounting, municipal administration and/or law.

Term and Payment
The GCCAC will be established by October 1, 2026 and continue until 2030. Successful applicants will receive a retainer of $1000 for the four-year term which will include one mandatory training session and any preparation/review required.

If a Sitting Committee needs to convene, a per-meeting remuneration of $200 for meetings under 4 hours and $300 for meetings more than 4 hours (plus mileage) will also be provided.

For more information, the terms of reference for the GCCAC are available from the Municipal Clerk at each of the local municipalities or on the respective websites.

Application Process

A copy of the required application form can be found below. Completed applications can be submitted by April 7, 2026 to the Grey County Clerk via email or mail.

email: clerk@grey.ca
mail: Corporation of the County of Grey, 595 9th Ave E. Owen Sound, ON N4K 3E3

Grey County Compliance Audit Committee Application Form 2026

What is a Compliance Audit Committee?

The Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (MEA) requires each municipality and school board in Ontario to establish a compliance audit committee to consider compliance audit applications.

If an eligible elector believes, on reasonable grounds, a candidate or registered third party has contravened the rules of the MEA relating to election campaign finances, they can request a compliance audit of the candidate's or registered third party's finances.

The lower-tier municipalities in Grey-Bruce are partnering to establish a Grey County Joint Compliance Audit Committee.

Purpose of the Committee

To consider whether to grant or reject a compliance audit application made by an eligible elector;
To appoint an auditor, if the application is granted;
Receive and consider the auditor's report and decide whether legal proceedings should be commenced;
Consider reports from the Clerk identifying contributors who appear to have contravened election contribution limits and decide whether legal proceedings should be commenced.

Powers and functions of the committee are found in the Municipal Elections Act, 1996.

Compliance Audit Applications

The Grey County Joint Compliance Audit Committee reviews and makes decisions on applications for compliance audits of finances for municipal candidates and registered third party advertisers.

An elector who is entitled to vote in an election and believes on reasonable grounds that a candidate has contravened a provision of the Act relating to election campaign finances may apply for a compliance audit of the candidate's election campaign finances, even if the candidate has not filed a financial statement.

Applications must be made within 90 days after the latest of the following dates:

The filing date under section 88.30 of the MEA.
The date the candidate or registered third party filed a financial statement, if the statement was filed within 30 days after the applicable filing date under section 88.30 of the MEA.
The candidate's or registered third party's supplementary filing date, if any, under section 88.30 of the MEA.
The date on which the candidate's extension, if any, under subsection 88.23(6) of the MEA expires, or the date on which the registered third party's extension, if any, under subsection 88.27(3) of the MEA expires.

An application must be completed and submitted to the Office of the Clerk of the municipality for which the candidate was nominated for office.

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