· Halifax firefighters’ union calls for resignation of fire chief amidst ‘declining’ capacity of fire service

CITY news halifax / By Rachel Morgan

The union representing the majority of firefighters in Halifax is calling for the resignation of Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency Chief Ken Stuebing following years of mismanagement.

The Halifax Professional Fire Fighters union has raised concerns with wildfire response and staffing issues that they say has eroded their trust in their leadership.

“This chief has repeatedly refused a policy of call-ins of off-duty fire fighters,” Brendan Meagher, President of HPFF said on The Todd Veinotte Show. He said instead he seems intent on “exploiting volunteers and resources from outside HRM.”

“We see him as more focused on communicating to the public and city council that he has purchased equipment and put people in place but doesn’t ensure that those people and those resources are actually ready to serve the public.”

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Meagher said there have been many situations that highlight this contrast in priorities, dating back to 2018 when the union began demanding call-in procedures. The chief’s refusal to follow through on such meant following catastrophes left crews on scene for extended periods of time with no relief.

In May 2023, a wildfire broke out in Tantallon and quickly ripped through the Hammond Plains community. A delayed response meant reinforcements were not called in until the fire had already spread into Highland Park, destroying 151 homes. In fact the councillor for the area was calling for military support at the time, while over 200 off-duty firefighters were available.

Lessons were not learned before this year’s June Ostrea Lake wildfire, when evacuations were underway but no off-duty firefighters were called in to assist.

“Since the Tantallon wildfire, frustration among our members has only grown. We were promised training and hands-on sessions that never happened,” a statement from the HPFF union reads. “No new wildfire-specific equipment has been provided in advance of the 2025 wildfire season.”

Other decisions that were made with seemingly little lack of recognition of safety or respect for individual firefighters, have left HPFF calling for change.

“Unfortunately, this is indicative of the leadership, or lack thereof, that has been allowed to flourish under Chief Ken Stuebing,” the statement from the union reads. “His failures extend beyond emergency operations. Complaints of racist, misogynistic, and homophobic behaviour among HRFE managers have gone unaddressed. At the same time, qualified operational leaders are being demoralized and driven out, while managers with unrelated skillsets are brought in to oversee programs that add little to our core mission of firefighting.”

All of this has led to an eroding morale, the union said.

Meagher said the union has tried to deal with the issues internally and through communicating with the CAO and city council but that the municipality’s representatives don’t appear to understand the severity and frequency of the complaints.

“But our members are telling us,” he said, “and they don’t want this anymore.”