North Bay mayor says he won’t resign over expenses controversy

North Bay Mayor Peter Chirico says he won’t resign in wake of a scandal over his expenses, but called on the city’s integrity commissioner to investigate.

North Bay Mayor Peter Chirico held a last-minute news conference Thursday afternoon to call for an investigation into his expenses by the city’s integrity commissioner.

Chirico said he has no intention of resigning and said he has done nothing wrong, according to city spokesperson Gord Young.

The mayor has been under fire in recent weeks after the city’s standard financial oversight processes flagged his use of a corporate credit card for a number of personal expenses.

Charges from 2023-2024

According to reports, about $16,000 in personal expenses were charged to his corporate card.

In a statement to CTV News on June 13, Chirico said that in 2023 and 2024, a number of expenses charged to his corporate credit card were flagged and reviewed and that all expenses were submitted through “appropriate channels.”

Chirico said expenses that were deemed personal, including some that fell into a “grey area,” were fully repaid.

On Thursday, he called for a full investigation into the matter by North Bay’s integrity commissioner Guy Giorno to clear the air.

Chirico declined requests for an interview Thursday from CTV News Northern Ontario, but said he would be available to talk next week.