Site MenuAdvisory Committee of Political Parties – Meeting Summary – April 12, 2018
3. Electoral District Association Training
Wendy Larose-Marois, Manager, Regulatory Instruments Secretariat, provided the Committee with an overview of EC's electoral district association (EDA) training for 2018, which includes in-class training and online components.
The agency held 33 sessions of in-class training in 24 cities across Canada, with a total of approximately 281 participants (there was a higher than usual dropout rate due to poor weather conditions). Over 60% of participants were financial agents. In response to numerous requests from past years, a new training format was used, with hands-on lab training on Electronic Financial Return (EFR) and two pilot sessions with laptops.
While participants enjoyed the hands-on EFR training, they mentioned they would appreciate training that covers compliance rules and EFR, as opposed to one or the other. Participants also requested additional training products, such as training specific to auditors' specific needs, and nomination contestant training.
Ms. Larose-Marois presented the new WebEx sessions on political financing that were launched one year ago. EC now offers monthly sessions for new financial agents and on fundraising, as well as customized sessions scheduled on request. So far, approximately 40 WebEx sessions have been held, and over 200 participants have been trained.
Ms. Larose-Marois also presented the 14 new political financing training videos that are now available on the EC website and informed the Committee that EC plans on publishing an additional 12 videos in the next year (including fundraising, volunteer labour and candidate-specific modules).
In closing, Ms. Larose-Marois shared EC's communication plan to raise awareness about their existing and new training products through social media and email. These messages will be easy for political entities to share.
Round Table Discussion
Overall, participants were satisfied with the addition of online training and WebEx sessions. There were some questions regarding the differences in effectiveness and results between online and in-class training. There was also a request to implement a certification process so that parties may have some assurance that the person who is taking the classes is certified at the end.
Some members inquired whether EC could expand their training to institutions such as banks, property owners, law enforcement, etc. Mr. Perrault explained that while EC's limited capacity does not generally allow for training outside of political parties, the agency does interact with banks, as there are specific requirements for accounts, such as account names, etc. The Commissioner of Canada Elections also does local outreach with police officers during an election, and there is a downloadable letter on the EC website that candidates can use with landlords to exercise their right to campaign and canvass.