Nova Scotia Removes Public’s Ability to File Complaints About Municipal Politicians
Nova Scotia residents have lost the right to file complaints about their municipal elected officials — a change the province says is temporary, but critics warn is “dangerously undemocratic.”
Under new amendments to the province’s municipal code of conduct, only council members can now file complaints against other members of their own council.
The decision, announced last week, follows reports of a “flood of complaints” since the provincewide code took effect last year.
Officials call it a pause; critics call it a rollback
Pam Mood, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities and mayor of Yarmouth, said the province is taking “a pause” to refine the system.
“If we’re going to get this right, we need to take a pause and see where we go,” Mood said.
Mood said municipalities have struggled with defining what constitutes frivolous or vexatious complaints, and that the review will help create consistent standards for investigators.
But accountability advocates disagree. Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, said Nova Scotia is now the only province in Canada where the public cannot make complaints about municipal officials.
“For the government to take away this right is dangerously undemocratic and unethical,” he said.
Residents frustrated by lack of accountability
The change comes a month after several residents, including Peter Linfield, filed complaints against Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore for allegedly misleading statements about a municipal role. Those complaints, submitted before the change, will still proceed — but no new public complaints will be accepted.
“It just seems like an unnecessary way to limit accountability,” Linfield said, calling the move a “weird overreaction.”
Province defends decision
The Department of Municipal Affairs said the public still has ways to hold councillors accountable.
“Citizens will continue to have the ability to hold council members accountable through the electoral process,” said spokesperson Heather Fairbairn.
The new rules also prohibit councillors from submitting complaints on behalf of others and allow investigators to merge similar cases into one file.
Mood said the federation will work with the province to revise the code and hopes improvements are made “as soon as possible.”
All other Atlantic provinces, as well as Ontario and British Columbia, continue to allow public complaints about municipal officials.
