There is definitely a very simple answer to that question. As I said in my presentation this morning, the act provides a series of definitions of election campaign expenses, which include electoral expenses and personal expenses of the candidates.
There is a set of criteria that must be considered in examining an expense to determine whether it ultimately constitutes an electoral expense and whether it grants entitlement to reimbursement. The first question that should be considered is this: was the expense incurred by the person claiming it? Was the expense reasonable? Was it accessory or related to the election campaign? Were the goods or services used as a result of those expenses used by the campaign? Were they used during the election campaign? You also have to consider the manner in which the expense was financed. Was it financed out of contributions or by a non-monetary transfer? If it was by means of a non-monetary transfer, you have to consider whether the non-monetary transfer corresponds to the commercial value of the transaction. Then you obviously have to consider whether the expense was paid.
In fact, perhaps I should have told you that the first question to consider is whether the expense was authorized by the official agent or whether the official agent authorized someone in writing to incur the expense on his behalf. That's generally the kind of question that must be asked in order to come to the conclusion that an expense is an electoral expense, eligible for reimbursement and that counts for the purposes of calculating the limit.