‘Financial irregularities’ in Halifax mayor’s office found in audit, RCMP investigating

Halifax's mayor's office is under investigation by the RCMP following an audit that uncovered significant financial irregularities. The probe was initiated after concerns were raised by senior municipal management regarding specific transactions originating from Mayor Andy Fillmore's office.

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It was not part of our original audit plan but came to us through concerns identified by senior management within the municipality about some transactions which originated in the mayor’s office. I decided we would dig into these four transactions quickly this spring.

Auditor General Andrew Atherton's report highlighted violations of the municipality's procurement policy in four key areas: external legal fees, hiring an HR consultant, and engaging a speechwriter. Atherton noted that some transactions crossed a line from mere non-compliance, prompting him to forward his findings to the police for a legal assessment.

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There were elements of some of them that moved past the line of clearly just ‘not compliant’ and started to make me ask whether they were a little worse than ‘not compliant.’ It’s not my job to assess whether something is illegal. So I felt it was important to bring in folks who could do that and asked police to have a look.

Mayor Fillmore has since personally repaid approximately $7,700 in legal fees. He clarified that these expenses were related to two separate code of conduct complaints filed against him in his capacity as mayor, emphasizing they were not personal legal issues. Fillmore stated that his staff has since undergone procurement training to ensure compliance with current policies, attributing the issues partly to a period of significant change and understaffing within the office.

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The staff is now up to speed on current policy. There was a lot of change going on at the time of these incidents and they were short-staffed at the office.

Fillmore expressed that he was unaware the matter had been referred to the police until the auditor general disclosed it during a committee meeting. He maintained confidence in his staff, including his chief of staff, Joanne Macrae, who was mentioned in the audit. The mayor indicated that both he and Macrae were navigating a new bureaucracy when these incidents occurred.

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The complaints for which I sought legal advice were brought against me as the holder of the office of mayor. These were not personal legal expenses.