These provisions—and there is a whole series of recommendations dealing with this—are basically intended to clarify the act to ensure that even if an expense was incurred before the writ was dropped, it must be declared and accounted for during the campaign, if it was made during the campaign.
A strict reading of the act makes it clear that it is the case for candidates… When it comes to leadership contests and riding associations, there is a problem with the way the legislation is currently drafted. It refers only to expenses incurred during the event… So, technically, any expenses incurred prior to the event would not be reported. I don't think that is the intent. I believe most people would understand that whenever the expense was actually incurred, if the benefit associated with the expense is used during the campaign, it must be reported for that campaign.