Campaign finances of 2022 mayoral candidate Khalil Ramal under scrutiny

A formal complaint filed at city hall raised several concerns about fundraising and expenses during the mayoral campaign of 2022 runner-up Khalil Ramal.

On June 29, London’s Compliance Audit Committee received a formal complaint that Ramal’s campaign finances may have violated election rules.

The complaint alleges:

1. Many financial donations over $100 fail to include the address and/or the name of a contributor
2. A contribution accepted for $1495 exceeds the $1200 limit
3. No expenses declared for phone, internet, or website hosting
4. Expenses of $2,034 and $339 for ‘steel’ may be subject to the spending limit
5. Other ‘revenue not deemed a contribution’ lists ‘3x50’ worth $150, which would exceed $25 limit

CTV News was asked by the Londoner who filed the complaint not to report their name.

In a written statement, the complainant explained, “In terms of the filing, it was simply to make sure a level playing field exists for all candidates. Mr. Ramal appears to have not followed the rules designed for all to follow, and a look into that aspect of his campaign is warranted.”

The Compliance Audit Committee has a gatekeeping role, either dismissing complaints or forwarding matters to the courts.

Political Scientist Andrew Sancton said the public has a right to know who is funding political campaigns.

“The whole purpose of having these rules is to ensure that people have some trust in the municipal electoral system,” Sancton said.

However, the timelines of the audit process can be long.

Legal proceedings related to the campaign finances of 2018 mayoral candidate Paul Cheng are still slowly making their way through the courts.

“It’s no good finding out six years after,” asserted Sancton. “[Everyone] needs to find out the results relatively soon afterwards, and certainly well before the next election.”

Even including the donations that are questioned by the complaint, Ramal’s campaign ended with a deficit of $32,786.63.

That shortfall is a large portion of his campaign’s reported spending of $41,722.01.

The auditor’s report that Ramal was required to include with his filing is a one-paragraph email from an accountant in Woodbridge who stated in part, “After examining the bank statement, donation expenses and Form 4, it appears to me that all the information are correctly entered in the Financial Statement.”

Ramal received 23 per cent support on Election Day, but was resoundingly defeated by Josh Morgan who received 66 percent.

Attempts to contact Ramal on Friday were not successful.

The Compliance Audit Committee will consider the complaint along with two other matters on August 2.