Auditor general to conduct additional review of Halifax Water

The Halifax Regional Water Commission is pictured on Aug. 29, 2025. (CTV Atlantic / Jonathan MacInnis)

After releasing a report critical of Halifax Water’s hiring practices, the municipality’s auditor general confirmed they will be going forward with another review of the utility this year.

The auditor general’s 2026-2027 annual report noted they plan to review Halifax Water’s governance and strategy. The report noted some reviews will not be available until 2027-2028.

Mayor Andy Fillmore, who has called for an audit into Halifax Water for months, said the upcoming review is a “important step to strengthen transparency” in a social media post.

“Given expected demand driven by federal defence investments, we need to make sure our systems are ready to keep pace with growth,” Fillmore said. “Halifax Water plays a critical role in our city, and my hope is this process will help ensure it is well-positioned for the future.”

The auditor general’s office confirmed with CTV News Atlantic they have not yet defined the full scope of the upcoming audit.

Hiring practices

On Wednesday, the auditor general released a report that found Halifax Water does not consistently follow its hiring practices, with many cases lacking proper documentation.

“Halifax Water’s competition files did not always demonstrate a fair hiring process was followed,” the audit reads. “We examined 30 advertised competitions and found the assessment of candidates was not well documented at the initial screening or interview stage.

“In some competitions, there was no information as to why some qualified candidates moved forward in the process while others did not.”

In 17 cases, the audit found not all short-listed candidates met all the minimum qualifications and there was no documented reason for their inclusion on the list.

In one instance, a candidate who failed a previous interview for a separate position was hired to a union position without being interviewed. In two other competitions, the highest-scoring candidates were not chosen and no rationale was provided.

“Management said many factors go into choosing the successful candidate, such as team fit, behavioral assessment, and succession planning,” the audit reads. “This is reasonable. However, decisions should be appropriately documented.”

The audit made six recommendations, which Halifax Water has agreed to implement. They include:

• develop process to track appointments and document details for each appointment
• develop process to formally monitor all hiring activities
• develop process to maintain competition files
• develop additional procedures to support the application of hiring policies
• develop more comprehensive company specific hiring training for employees in the hiring process
• develop process to obtain signed conflict of interest declarations for each Halifax Water employee involved in the hiring process

The audit was conducted from January 2023 to June 2025.

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