Former Halifax mayor Peter Kelly facing scrutiny for role at Charlottetown city hall
Global News
City councillors in the P.E.I. capital met behind closed doors Monday night to discuss the fate of Peter Kelly, but they say no decision was reached.
A former Halifax mayor who left office in 2012 amid controversy over a Black Eyed Peas concert is again drawing scrutiny, this time in his role as chief administrative officer in Charlottetown.
City councillors in the P.E.I. capital met behind closed doors Monday night to discuss the fate of Peter Kelly, but they say no decision was reached, and another meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday.
Kelly, who has held the position in Charlottetown since 2016, is facing accusations that he fired senior staff after they brought up concerns about the city’s administration.
Mayor Phillip Brown was tight-lipped in an emailed statement Monday. “We are currently going through a process to determine the best way forward,” he said when asked for comment.
The issue made its way to the provincial legislature last week, where Green Party Leader Peter Bevan-Baker tabled an anonymous letter from city staffers outlining accusations against Kelly. His party, the official Opposition, called for the province to conduct a review of Charlottetown city hall.
Green MLA Stephen Howard says it’s up to Minister of Communities Jamie Fox to look into the concerns.
“The minister is the one person on the Island that has the power to step in and have a look when it seems like there’s a need for investigating, or outside eyes, to see what’s going on,” Howard said in an interview Monday. “And he just doesn’t seem to be willing to use that power.”
In question period last week, Fox said the concerns about Kelly are a human resources matter that the city can manage. He declined requests for an interview.