Firefighters’ union calls for resignation of fire chief amidst ‘declining’ capacity of service

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 it says have eroded trust in his leadership.

“This chief has repeatedly refused a policy of call-ins of off-duty firefighters,” 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.”

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 a statement to CityNews Halifax, Bill Moore, Commissioner of Public Safety for HRM said he and the city are aware of the concerns raised by the union.

“The Acting Chief Administrative Officer has asked me, in my role as Commissioner of Public Safety, to review the matter and that process is currently underway,” Moore said. “As the municipality and the union are currently engaged in the collective bargaining process and this involves personnel-related issues, the municipality will not be providing further comment at this time.” 

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 for 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.”