Auditor finds Sudbury city councillor contravened Municipal Elections Act in 2022
Committee must decide whether to commence legal proceedings against Bill Leduc on July 3rd
The firm that conducted an audit of Sudbury Ward 11 councillor Bill Leduc's campaign finances concludes there "appears to be contraventions to the Municipal Elections Act."
KPMG LLP was hired by the City of Greater Sudbury to do a compliance audit in the spring of 2023, after Ward 11 resident Anastasia Rioux brought in evidence suggesting Leduc had campaigned at an event sponsored by the city.
Upon reviewing that evidence, the Election Compliance Audit Committee concluded that Leduc's election campaign was to some extent promoted at that September 11, 2022 event sponsored by one of the city's Community Action Networks.
Leduc did not record the expenses he incurred during that event in his campaign's financial statement.
The auditor's report found approximately $3,080 worth of transactions should have been recorded in Leduc's campaign expenses, and if they had been, he would have exceeded the general spending limit by approximately $2,938.
Other examples of wrongdoing in Leduc's campaign finances include a $1,000 contribution from Norm Bouffard, half of which was paid for in cash, although the Municipal Elections Act stipulates cash contributions should not exceed $25.
The auditor report also found three $1,000 contributions that appeared to be coming from three different sources, but really all came from a bank account associated with one person.
"It appears that the bank drafts purchased by Ms. Anna Maria Villano may be $1,800 in excess of contributions allowed from a single contributor," reads the report.
Committee to decide whether or not to begin legal proceedings
The Election Compliance Audit Committee will review the findings of the report at its next meeting on Wednesday July 3.
It must decide whether to commence legal proceedings against Leduc for apparent contraventions of the campaign finance rules.
Leduc and Rioux will both be given the opportunity to provide written submissions prior to the meeting.
They will then be able to address the committee during the meeting.
Leduc says he's happy with the work his accountant did on his campaign finances, and says the cash donation from Norm Bouffard was an "error in judgment" on his part.
"I'll take responsibility for that," he told CBC.
Leduc maintains that he did not campaign during the September 2022 event.
"I hired a lawyer, because I take this very seriously," he said.