Nova Scotia·NewAn investigator found the mayor of Halifax did not breach the municipal code of conduct with comments he made about the role of a chief administrative officer earlier this year. Complainant says Andy Fillmore should be more careful about his public remarksHaley Ryan · CBC News · Posted: Dec 10, 2025 5:17 PM EST | Last Updated: 1 hour agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore speaks with media at city hall on July 8, 2025. Fillmore’s office says it cannot speak about any questions related to code of conduct complaints. (CBC)An investigator found the mayor of Halifax did not breach the municipal code of conduct with comments he made earlier this year about the role of a chief administrative officer.This summer, Andy Fillmore spoke out multiple times about the need to change the municipal structure, and said he would welcome strong mayor powers from the provincial government to better deliver on his campaign promises.Fillmore has said the power in the municipal organization is “concentrated with an unelected CAO,” and in July he said “I report to the CAO” in the Halifax organizational chart.In fact, the CAO reports to regional council, which includes the mayor.At the time, multiple councillors condemned Fillmore’s comments, with some calling them “misinformation.”Halifax resident Peter Linfield filed a code of conduct complaint about those comments, and an independent investigator determined they had merit to investigate.Linfield said investigator Tanya Tynski of MC Advisory notified him by email in early November that a complaint with the same concerns and facts had already been investigated.Despite an investigator’s findings, Peter Linfield of Halifax says he still believes Andy Fillmore’s comments were misleading. (Haley Ryan/CBC)“That investigator did not find a violation of the Code of Conduct. Given the facts of your complaint were already investigated, it was not appropriate to re-investigate the same concern,” Tynski said in the email.Linfield said he was not surprised by the outcome, because the code is open to interpretation.“But I’m disappointed because it did seem like a pretty clear, you know, attempt to mislead the public, which I thought was a pretty obvious violation,” Linfield said Tuesday.He said it was a frustrating process to go through as a complainant, because he was not able to see the final report or the rationale for why an investigator determined there was no breach.Linfield said he still felt Fillmore should have known better and should be more cognizant of speaking about things that “bend the truth or reality.”“Maybe take a step back and don’t do that because it’s not helpful for residents here, or our trust in our municipal government,” Linfield said.Fellow Halifax resident Jillian Banfield had made a similar complaint against Fillmore.Banfield said she had not heard anything about the status of her file, but assumed it had the same outcome as Linfield’s.”I sort of expected it wouldn’t really have teeth,” Banfield said Wednesday about the complaints process.“It’s just disappointing that there’s no real reprimand, I guess, for that kind of action. I don’t think it’s a good look.”Banfield said she would still like to see Fillmore publicly acknowledge the situation, even if it was a “good-faith misunderstanding.”Halifax resident Jillian Banfield says she is disappointed her code of conduct complaint against Andy Fillmore did not lead to any reprimand. (CBC)A spokesperson for Fillmore’s office said they could not speak to this topic.CBC also asked Fillmore’s office about residents’ calls for him to be cautious in the future, and whether he has learned anything from the situation. It did not receive a response.In the municipal process, the subject of code of conduct complaints remains confidential until a council votes to sanction a member, if an investigator has found there was a code breach.These public complaints will be among the last ones — for at least some time — made about the Halifax mayor or councillors.In October, the provincial government made changes to the municipal code of conduct to remove the public’s ability to complain about elected officials.The province has said it is reviewing the code after multiple municipalities said they were dealing with a flood of frivolous complaints.“It’s a real shame. I don’t think it’s a good idea and I don’t understand even the rationale behind it, except to try to dodge accountability,” Linfield said.The Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities has said it is working with the province on the review, and the removal of the public complaints process is only a pause.MORE TOP STORIES ABOUT THE AUTHORHaley Ryan is the municipal affairs reporter for CBC covering mainland Nova Scotia. Got a story idea? Send an email to haley.ryan@cbc.ca, or reach out on Twitter @hkryan17.
Halifax mayor did not break code of conduct with CAO comments, investigator found
