Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

NEW CITY POLICY

Kamloops mayor wants more details on new access policy; councillors support safety audit

Apr 12, 2024 | 5:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — The mayor and councillors in Kamloops now have a new route around city hall, after a new city policy came into force on Thursday (April 11).

“I cant even go to the lunchroom now. I like to buy peanuts for my snacks and stuff like that. I can’t go there. I can’t say hi to the employees or [anything],” said Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson. “I think we need to find out why this was sparked. Like really, why? Why? It goes a little deeper. I think that our employees here in the city, the majority of the employees — the union employees — I believe they feel very secure.”

The mayor did raise concerns about the safety of himself and council from the new policy with the public access to chambers and his office.

Director of Corporate Services Jen Fretz highlighted that the door to chambers is able to be locked if safety concerns exist.

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And while the mayor focused on bullying, the move is being made with an eye to the changing world and safety of staff.

“It’s about the fact there is a changing world, people are seeing government bodies differently and we want to make sure we are continuing to make sure we’re engaging with the public as best we possibly can. We want to and we value doing that, but we want to make sure we are safe when we are doing it,” said Fretz.

The safety audit has been ongoing for a few months, with the latest the move to restrict access at city hall and all other city facilities made by staff this past week.

“The third-party contractor that is doing the audit has already set up interviews and completed interviews with a number of the staff that work at City Hall to get their take on how they are feeling about safety within the workplace,” stated Fretz.

The move is temporary in nature, with decisions on the future of the restrictions to be made following the safety audit.

“These measures are put in place for the time being until the safety audit is complete. And then we may make changes, we may have more secure measures, we may have less secure measures — we don’t want to pre-suppose what is going to come out of the audit,” said Fretz.

The mayor and council were told about the move earlier this week, but Hamer-Jackson says that message was not clear enough to him. He called the whole process “ridiculous.”

“I still can get the work done. I still pick up the phone and do things and go visit people. I’m still getting things done but it’s just very childish, and it’s embarrassing. It’s completely embarrassing for me. You know I have run businesses my whole life and it’s just crazy,” said Hamer-Jackson.

While the mayor has questions about the process, Deputy Mayor Bill Sarai confirmed that council fully supports staff in implementing whatever operational changes are necessary for the protection of city employees, ensuring they are free from bullying and harassment.