Date of deregistration

(2) The notice under subsection (1) shall specify the effective date of the deregistration, which shall be at least 15 days after the day on which the notice is sent.

Publication

403.24 (1) If a registered association is deregistered for any reason other than the deregistration of the political party with which it is affiliated, the Chief Electoral Officer shall without delay cause a notice of deregistration to be published in the Canada Gazette.

Entry of deregistration in registry of electoral district associations

(2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall indicate any deregistration of a registered association in the registry of electoral district associations.

Effect of deregistration

403.25 A deregistered electoral district association continues to have the obligations of a registered association for the application of section 403.26.

Fiscal period and returns

403.26 The financial agent of a deregistered electoral district association shall, within six months after the day of its deregistration, provide the Chief Electoral Officer with the documents referred to in subsection 403.35(1) for

    (a) the portion of its current fiscal period ending on the day of its deregistration; and

    (b) any earlier fiscal period for which those documents have not already been provided under that subsection.

Financial Administration of Registered Associations

General

Duty of financial agent

403.27 The financial agent of a registered association is responsible for administering its financial transactions and for reporting on them, in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Prohibition - paying expenses

403.28 (1) No person or entity, other than an electoral district agent of a registered association, shall pay the registered association's expenses.

Prohibition - incurring expenses

(2) No person or entity, other than an electoral district agent of a registered association, shall incur the registered association's expenses.

Prohibition - accepting contributions

(3) No person, other than an electoral district agent of a registered association shall accept contributions to the registered association.

Prohibition - transfers

(4) No person, other than the financial agent of a registered association, shall accept or make transfers of goods or funds on behalf of the association.

Processing of Expense Claims

Three months to send expense claims

403.29 (1) A person with a claim to be paid for an expense of a registered association shall, within three months after the expense was incurred, send the invoice or other document evidencing the claim to the registered association or one of its electoral district agents.

Bar to recovery

(2) A claimant is barred from recovery of a claim that is sent after the three-month period.

Deceased claimant

(3) If a claimant dies before the end of the three-month period, a new three-month period begins, for the purposes of subsection (1), on the day on which the claimant's legal representative becomes entitled to act for the claimant.

Payment within six months

403.3 A claim that has been sent in accordance with section 403.29 must be paid within six months after payment of it is due.

Irregular claims or payments - Chief Electoral Officer

403.31 (1) On the written application of a claimant with a claim to be paid for an expense of a registered association or of an electoral district agent, the Chief Electoral Officer may, on being satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for so doing, in writing authorize the electoral district agent of the registered association to pay the amount claimed if

    (a) the claim was not sent in accordance with subsection 403.29(1); or

    (b) the payment was not made in accordance with section 403.3.

Terms and conditions

(2) The Chief Electoral Officer may fix any term or condition that he or she considers appropriate on a payment authorized under subsection (1).

Irregular claims or payments - judge

403.32 On the application of a person who has a claim to be paid for an expense of a registered association or of an electoral district agent of the association, a judge who is competent to conduct a recount, on being satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for so doing, may by order authorize the electoral district agent to pay the amount claimed if

    (a) the applicant establishes that an authorization under subsection 403.31(1) has been refused and that the claim was sent after the three-month period referred to in subsection 403.29(1) or the payment has not been made in the six-month period referred to in section 403.3; or

    (b) the amount claimed has not been paid in accordance with an authorization obtained from the Chief Electoral Officer under subsection 403.31(1) and the applicant establishes that he or she was unable to comply with that authorization for reasons beyond his or her control.

Proceeding to recover claimed payments

403.33 (1) A person who has sent a claim in accordance with section 403.29 may commence proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover any unpaid amount

    (a) at any time, if the electoral district agent refuses to pay that amount or disputes that it is payable; or

    (b) after the end of the period referred to in section 403.3 or any extension of that period authorized by subsection 403.31(1) or section 403.32, in any other case.

Payment deemed properly made

(2) An amount paid by an electoral district agent of a registered association as a result of proceedings referred to in subsection (1) is deemed to have been paid in accordance with this Act.

Deemed contributions

403.34 (1) An unpaid claim mentioned in a return referred to in subsection 403.35(1) that, on the day that is 18 months after the end of the fiscal period to which the return relates, remains unpaid, in whole or in part, is deemed to be a contribution of the unpaid amount to the registered association made as of the day on which the expense was incurred.

When no deemed contribution

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to an unpaid claim that, on the day referred to in that subsection,

    (a) is the subject of a binding agreement to pay;

    (b) is the subject of a legal proceeding to secure its payment;

    (c) is the subject of a dispute as to the amount the association was liable to pay or the amount that remains unpaid; or

    (d) has been written off by the creditor as an uncollectable debt in accordance with the creditor's normal accounting practices.

Notice by association

(3) The financial agent of a registered association who believes that any of paragraphs (2)(a) to (d) applies to a liability to pay an amount shall so notify the Chief Electoral Officer before the day referred to in subsection (1).

Publication of deemed contributions

(4) As soon as practicable after the day referred to in subsection (1), the Chief Electoral Officer shall, in any manner that he or she considers appropriate, publish the list of claims that are deemed under subsection (1) to be contributions.

Financial Reporting

Return on financial transactions

403.35 (1) The financial agent of a registered association shall, for each fiscal period of the association, provide to the Chief Electoral Officer

    (a) a financial transactions return, substantially in the prescribed form, on the association's financial transactions;

    (b) the auditor's report on the financial transactions return, if one is required under subsection 403.37(1);

    (c) a declaration in the prescribed form by the financial agent that the financial transactions return is complete and accurate; and

    (d) any statements and declarations provided to the financial agent by virtue of paragraph 405.3(2)(c) and subsection 405.3(4).

Contents of return

(2) A financial transactions return must set out

    (a) a statement of contributions received by the registered association from the following classes of contributor: individuals, corporations, trade unions and associations referred to in subsection 405.3(3);

    (b) the number of contributors in each class listed in paragraph (a);

    (b.1) in the case of a contributor that is an association referred to in subsection 405.3(3),

      (i) the name and address of the association, the amount of its contribution and the date on which it was received by the registered association, and

      (ii) the name and address of each individual whose money forms part of the contribution, the amount of money provided by that individual that is included in the contribution and the date on which it was provided to the association;

    (c) the name and address of each other contributor in a class listed in paragraph (a) who made contributions of a total amount of more than $200 to the registered association, that total amount, as well as the amount of each such contribution and the date on which it was received by the association;

    (d) in the case of a numbered company that is a contributor referred to in paragraph (c), the name of the chief executive officer or president of that company;

    (e) a statement of the registered association's assets and liabilities and any surplus or deficit in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, including a statement of

      (i) disputed claims under section 403.33, and

      (ii) unpaid claims that are, or may be, the subject of an application referred to in subsection 403.31(1) or section 403.32;

    (f) a statement of the registered association's revenues and expenses in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

    (g) a statement of the commercial value of goods or services provided and of funds transferred by the registered association to the registered party, to another registered association or to a candidate endorsed by the registered party;

    (h) a statement of the commercial value of goods or services provided and of funds transferred to the registered association from the registered party, another registered association, a candidate, a leadership contestant or a nomination contestant;

    (i) a statement of loans or security received by the registered association, including any conditions on them;

    (i.1) a statement that provides full disclosure of financial loans for the purposes of the campaign, including interest rates, repayment schedules and the name of the lender; and

    (j) a statement of contributions received by the registered association but returned in whole or in part to the contributors or otherwise dealt with in accordance with this Act.

Loans

(3) For the purpose of subsection (2), other than paragraph (2)(j), a contribution includes a loan.

Period for providing documents

(4) The financial agent of a registered association shall provide the documents referred to in subsection (1) within five months after the end of the fiscal period.

When contributions forwarded to Receiver General

403.36 The financial agent of a registered association shall, without delay, pay an amount of money equal to the value of a contribution received by the association to the Chief Electoral Officer who shall forward it to the Receiver General, if

    (a) the financial agent cannot determine to which of the classes listed in paragraph 403.35(2)(a) the contributor belongs; or

    (b) the name of the contributor of a contribution of more than $25, the name or the address of the contributor having made contributions of a total amount of more than $200 or the name of the chief executive officer or president of a contributor referred to in paragraph 403.35(2)(d) is not known.

Auditor's report

403.37 (1) The auditor of a registered association that has, in a fiscal period, accepted contributions of $5,000 or more in total or incurred expenses of $5,000 or more in total shall report to the association's financial agent on the financial transactions return of the association and shall, in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, make any examination that will enable the auditor to give an opinion in the report as to whether it presents fairly the information contained in the financial records on which it is based.

Statement

(2) The auditor shall include in the report under subsection (1) any statement the auditor considers necessary if

    (a) the financial transactions return that is the subject of the report does not present fairly the information contained in the financial records on which it is based; or

    (b) based on the examination, it appears that proper accounting records have not been kept by the registered association.

Right of access

(3) The auditor shall have access at any reasonable time to all documents of the association and may require the financial agent and electoral district agents of the association to provide any information or explanation that, in the auditor's opinion, may be necessary to enable the auditor to prepare the report.

Prohibition - financial reports

403.38 No financial agent of a registered association shall provide the Chief Electoral Officer with a financial transactions return that

    (a) the financial agent knows or ought reasonably to know contains a materially false or misleading statement; or

    (b) does not substantially set out the information required by subsection 403.35(2).

Payment of Audit Expenses

Certificate - audit expenses

403.39 (1) On receipt of the documents referred to in subsection 403.35(1) and a copy of the auditor's invoice, the Chief Electoral Officer shall provide the Receiver General with a certificate that sets out the amount, up to a maximum of $1,500, of the expenses incurred for the audit made under subsection 403.37(1).

Payment

(2) On receipt of the certificate, the Receiver General shall pay the amount set out in it to the auditor out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Corrections and Extended Reporting Periods

Minor corrections - Chief Electoral Officer

403.4 (1) The Chief Electoral Officer may correct a document referred to in subsection 403.35(1) if the correction does not materially affect its substance.

Corrections at request of Chief Electoral Officer

(2) The Chief Electoral Officer may in writing request a registered association to correct, within a specified period, a document referred to in subsection 403.35(1).

Extension or correction - Chief Electoral Officer

403.41 (1) The Chief Electoral Officer, on the written application of the financial agent of a registered association or, if the financial agent is absent or incapacitated, the chief executive officer of the association, may authorize

    (a) the extension of a period provided in subsection 403.35(4); or

    (b) the correction, within a specified period, of a document referred to in subsection 403.35(1).

Deadline

(2) An application may be made

    (a) under paragraph (1)(a), within the period provided in subsection 403.35(4); and

    (b) under paragraph (1)(b), as soon as the applicant becomes aware of the need for correction.

Grounds

(3) The Chief Electoral Officer may not authorize an extension or correction unless he or she is satisfied by the evidence submitted by the applicant that the circumstances giving rise to the application arose by reason of