A city committee has decided to launch legal proceedings against a progressive advocacy group for alleged breaches of campaign finance law during the last municipal election.
On Wednesday, Ottawa’s election compliance audit committee accepted the results of an independent audit that found Horizon Ottawa possibly violated the Municipal Elections Act by failing to keep proper records, improperly collecting cash donations and incurring expenses before it registered as a third-party advertiser.
Most of the apparent contraventions stemmed from an event in September 2022 called Horizonfest. The event, which was attended by several progressive candidates, was held shortly before that fall’s municipal election.
“By incurring the expenses before the campaign period, Horizon Ottawa gained an advantage in its campaign activities,” said committee chair Timothy Cullen, reading a motion that passed three to one.
It directed the city clerk to refer the case to an independent prosecutor to begin judicial proceedings against the group.
Cullen was clear that the committee does not have the power to decide whether Horizon Ottawa actually contravened the law, only to refer the matter to a prosecutor who will decide whether to move forward.
Group calls complaint ‘politically motivated’
Horizon Ottawa immediately issued a media release saying it stands by its conduct during the election. It called the complaint that sparked the audit “politically motivated and riddled with inaccuracies.”
This has been nothing more than a fishing expedition started by someone who disagrees with Horizon Ottawa’s vision and mission.– Horizon Ottawa
“This has been nothing more than a fishing expedition started by someone who disagrees with Horizon Ottawa’s vision and mission,” the release said.
The original complaint came from developer Edward Phillips and focused on posters for Horizonfest. But the audit by BDO Ottawa LLP, released last month, focused on three other apparent contraventions that were largely related to the same festival.
It found about $450 left in a donation jar at Horizonfest should have been either returned to the donors or handed over to the city clerk, because the event didn’t meet the criteria for a fundraiser. Nor did Horizon Ottawa keep records of the donations or issue receipts, according to the audit.
The audit also found that Horizon Ottawa reimbursed expenses worth about $950 from its campaign bank account to cover phone credits, a liquor licence, a tarp and a stage for Horizonfest.
Finally, the audit found Horizon Ottawa’s financial records “did not appear to be appropriately maintained.” It said they misstated when expenses were incurred and lacked sufficient detail about a $500 payment to a musician, for example.
Lawyer says cash donations undermined transparency
The committee first heard from John Pappas, representing Phillips. He said the apparent contraventions the auditors found “add up to a very severe disregard” of the Municipal Election Act.
Pappas said accepting cash donations “strikes at the core of transparency” since they can’t be traced back to donors, while the early expenses gave Horizon an unfair advantage.
“These are serious issues because they strike at the core purposes underlying the campaign finance rules, and for an organization that seeks to advance accountability and transparency in local government, these standards also need to apply,” he said.
Horizon Ottawa’s lawyer Emilie Taman said both sides agree on the importance of fair and transparent elections. She said the group made good faith efforts to follow campaign finance rules, and any contraventions were minor and inadvertent.
“Any suggestion that this was some kind of intentional flouting of the rules I think flies in the face of the facts in front of you,” she said. “There was a very diligent effort to comply with the rules in this case.”
In Taman’s view, launching a prosecution would not serve the public interest, and will uselessly impose costs on both the city and her client.
She said Horizon Ottawa had already begun planning Horizonfest when the group decided to invite candidates to attend. At that point, she said, the group decided to register as a third-party advertiser “out of an abundance of caution.”
In its media release, Horizon Ottawa said legal proceedings will be drawn-out and costly.
“Clearly, there was no intent to violate the Municipal Elections Act including the contribution or expenditure limits,” it said. “On the contrary, we made every reasonable effort to comply with our statutory obligations and exercised a high level of due diligence in doing so.”
The release, attributed to Horizon Ottawa’s board of directors, said the group acted with integrity and transparency, and looks forward to being vindicated in the coming proceedings.