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The mayor of Halifax is being investigated for possibly breaking the city’s code of conduct, after an independent consultant decided complaints he had misled the public about governance at city hall had merit.
On July 22, Mayor Andy Fillmore told CBC’s Maritime Noon he would welcome so-called “strong mayor powers” if granted by the province. Fillmore said they are needed because the chief administrative officer holds the most power in the current municipal structure, and he reports to the CAO.
Multiple councillors — and current CAO Cathie O’Toole — immediately refuted that statement. In fact, they said, the CAO reports to council, which includes the mayor.
“I felt that was a pretty egregious thing for him to say,” Halifax resident Jillian Banfield said Tuesday.
As a “longtime follower of municipal politics” and former bicycle mayor of Halifax, Banfield said she knew right away Fillmore’s comments were wrong.
“It is kind of a [President Donald] Trump tactic to just say something, and keep saying it until people, you know, think that it’s true,” Banfield said.
She is one of two people who told CBC News they complained to the Halifax municipality that Fillmore’s comments misled the public, breaking a section of the municipal code of conduct for elected officials.
Peter Linfield of Halifax, the second complainant, said he was concerned Fillmore’s comments were designed to “spread misinformation” about how council works to bolster his argument for strong mayor powers by describing constraints “that may or may not exist” around the mayor’s office.
Fillmore said in a joint statement with O’Toole a few days after his radio comments that while the CAO does report to council, the Halifax organizational chart shows the Office of the Mayor falls under the CAO’s business unit.
Linfield said that response was a “dodge,” and not a proper apology from Fillmore.
“If that’s what he meant, how is that a point of conversation that’s worth discussing in light of strong mayor powers?” Linfield said.
“I don’t think it’s totally, you know, genuine and I don’t think it really addresses the underlying concern there.”
Both Banfield and Linfield said they received an email last Friday from the Halifax municipal clerk’s office to inform them an external investigator had reviewed their complaints and decided they have merit.
“As a result, a formal investigation is required,” said the email addressed to Linfield, which was shared with CBC.
The email said Tanya Tynski of MC Advisory will conduct the investigation. MC Advisory is a firm offering various services on human resources issues and workplace investigations that is based in Halifax and affiliated with the McInnes Cooper law firm, according to its website.
Halifax’s website said the municipality uses both MC Advisory and Atlantic Workplace Investigations & Consulting as third-party investigators into complaints on a rotational basis.
Although Halifax had a code of conduct for elected officials for years, it recently adopted the new provincewide rules imposed by the provincial government in 2024. The province said a streamlined approach was needed for all municipalities to work under the same expectations for behaviour and investigations.
The code said an investigator’s report must come back to council within six months of a complaint, which would be January 2026 dating from a late-July complaint.
Halifax councillors will discuss the issue in private and make a decision, but council must state publicly what section of the code relates to the complaint, the investigator’s recommendations and whether they are imposing any sanctions.
Those consequences could include an apology letter, a fine of up to $1,000, public censure or removal from municipal committees for a few months.
Both Linfield and Banfield said they would like to see an apology from Fillmore about his comments, at the very least.
“Whatever mechanism is most effective … to produce, you know, a mayor who kind of takes his responsibility and the power bestowed upon him more seriously,” said Banfield.
Other complaints reported
The Halifax Examiner also reported Tuesday that a code of conduct complaint was made about Fillmore’s decision to end a town hall meeting in Cole Harbour on Aug. 25 after people raised concerns about council’s Aug. 19 decision to grant money for the upcoming Davis Cup tie in Halifax between Team Canada and Israel.
That complaint has also resulted in an investigation by Tynski, the Examiner said.
CBC News requested a comment from Fillmore’s office, but did not receive a response by deadline.
Jake Fulton, a Halifax municipal spokesperson, said Tuesday the city could not confirm whether any investigation has begun “due to the personal nature of the Code of Conduct investigations.”
Personal information is protected under the Municipal Government Act and the code of conduct regulations, Fulton said, which states that the investigator must protect the confidentiality of those involved in a complaint or investigation.
Details of formal complaints are made publicly available online after regional council has made its decision, Fulton said.
