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Horizon Ottawa Exonerated in Election Audit Case, City Spends $500,000 on Audits
Horizon Ottawa Exonerated in Election Audit Case, City Spends $500,000 on Audits
OTTAWA - Horizon Ottawa has learned today that the City of Ottawa, based on advice from an independent special prosecutor, has decided not to pursue any charges in relation to the 2022 municipal election compliance audit, effectively ending a years-long ordeal and fully exonerating the organization of any wrongdoing.
This decision brings closure to a process that, according to city records, has cost taxpayers nearly half a million dollars in funds spent on auditing small community organizations and individuals, despite the clear lack of any public benefit or legal justification.
“We are deeply relieved that this baseless and costly process has finally come to an end,” said Sam Hersh, Board Member of Horizon Ottawa. “It’s shameful that hundreds of thousands of public dollars were wasted investigating community advocates instead of being spent on the pressing needs of residents. People should not be able to exploit this process to attack civic organizations and candidates they disagree with and it’s time the City reforms the system to make sure this never happens again.”
The compliance audit was launched in 2023 following a complaint by Ted Phillips, an executive with the Taggart Group, one of Ottawa’s largest development firms. Phillips also filed similar complaints against Councillor Shawn Menard and former Osgoode mayor Doug Thompson both of which were also dismissed as “not in the public interest.”
The process forced Horizon Ottawa, a small, largely volunteer-run organization to expend enormous time, money, and emotional energy defending itself from allegations that were never substantiated. The City’s own appointed special prosecutor, confirmed in writing that prosecution would “not be in the public interest” and that this decision “concludes the audit process”
“For a grassroots group like ours, this has been an extremely difficult and exhausting experience,” said Susan Hickman, Treasurer of Horizon Ottawa. “We’ve always conducted ourselves in good faith and complied with the rules. The City’s process has been punitive and unnecessary. It should never have gone this far."
Throughout the ordeal, Horizon Ottawa consistently maintained that its campaign activities complied with the Municipal Elections Act. The organization’s lawyer, Emilie Taman, argued before the Elections Compliance Audit Committee that Horizon Ottawa had fully disclosed its finances and, in fact, “held itself to a higher standard than required by law by resolving a legal grey area in favour of transparency.”
The special prosecutor’s decision validates that position and confirms that the committee’s actions went well beyond what was reasonable or justifiable.
“We have always stood by our integrity,” added Sam Hersh. “Every action we took during the election was in good faith and consistent with both the letter and the spirit of the law. The City must learn from this and ensure that politically motivated complaints cannot be used as weapons against those fighting for a fairer, more democratic Ottawa.”
Horizon Ottawa is calling on City Council to immediately review and reform the Election Compliance Audit process to prevent politically motivated abuse and financial waste in the upcoming election and advocate to the Province for clearer Third Party guidelines.
“The City should be celebrating civic engagement, not punishing it,” said Hersh. “We hope this marks the end of an era of intimidation by powerful interests and the beginning of one where transparency, fairness, and accountability truly guide municipal governance.”
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For Media Inquiries:
Sam Hersh
613-663-7018
[email protected]
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