File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

City Hall

City Hall security lockdown for mayor, council unlikely to end anytime soon: City of Kamloops staff

Apr 24, 2024 | 2:12 PM

KAMLOOPS — A security protocol that limits access to Kamloops City Hall for Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson and the rest of council is working and will not be lifted anytime soon, according to City of Kamloops staff.

During business hours, the protocol gives Hamer-Jackson and council access only to areas accessible to the general public. After hours and on weekends, the elected officials are locked out, including Hamer-Jackson, meaning he cannot access his own office.

“I work all the time and I can’t get in here on the weekends and I can’t get in here early mornings or late,” complained Hamer-Jackson during his mayor’s report in Tuesday’s (Apr. 23) regular meeting. “We’ve taken these measures to protect staff, but there are no staff in the building (at these times), so is there a way for me to get into the building after hours and on weekends?”

“The measures we took were to protect the staff within City Hall, specifically. We have staff working here all hours of the day and night, including on weekends,” replied Civic Operations Director Jen Fretz. “The measures we’ve taken have been successful so far, so we don’t have any intention of changing them in the near future.”

“We had to lock down the building in order to protect staff, which we’ve done,” added acting CAO Byron McCorkell. “That, unfortunately, put council on the public side, which means you can come through the building during daytime hours. Because of our alarm system and everything else, that’s the way we are right now and that’s the way we’re going to go forward until such time as our security review is completed.”

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Hamer-Jackson was accused of bullying and harassment by four city staffers, including CAO David Trawin and McCorkell, between November 2022 and April 2023. The city commissioned The Integrity Group to launch an investigation into the alleged Code of Conduct violations. According to a report Hamer-Jackson leaked to local media, investigator Terry Honcharuk found the mayor committed 12 violations of the code.

However, Hamer-Jackson did not participate in the investigation, saying he was never provided with the details of the allegations against him before Honcharuk asked to interview him.

City of Kamloops staff and council have never publicly acknowledged details of the investigation due to privacy concerns surrounding personnel matters.

At Tuesday’s public meeting, Hamer-Jackson appeared to attempt to coax staff into discussing details of the allegations. They did not take the bait.

“Why were these (security) measures taken? What sparked this?” asked Hamer-Jackson.

“Mr. Mayor, we’re not going to adjudicate all of that here,” responded McCorkell. “Basically, this is because of the fact that the city has had situations where staff have felt unsecure in their work. Therefore, we’ve implemented what we’ve been directed to do as far as ensuring our people are safe. We have done that and as you know why, that’s why we’ve done that.”

“Well actually, I don’t know why and that’s why I’m asking the question,” retorted Hamer-Jackson. “If I knew why, if I knew that there were bullying and harassment cases [toward] staff (against) myself, I would be well aware. In the past, I’ve talked to WorkSafe BC, I’ve talked to unions… and you would be notified that you had done something.”

Staff closed the conversation by reiterating that any specifics detailing allegations of bullying and harassment cannot be discussed in a public council meeting.