Reid Hamer-Jackson and Bill Sarai are seen in these file photos from Kamloops City Hall. (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Victor Kaisar

Councillor's Secret Recording

Petition calling for Bill Sarai to resign over secret recording of Kamloops Mayor

Nov 30, 2024 | 1:49 PM

KAMLOOPS — (UPDATE 7:30 p.m.): A newly-formed citizen watchdog group is calling on Kamloops Councillor Bill Sarai to resign following revelations that he secretly recorded a Jan. 2023 conversation with Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson that quickly escalated to a heated argument.

“We, the citizens, demand the immediate resignation of Kamloops City Councillor Bill Sarai for breaching the Community Charter’s code of ethics, violating the Oath of Office that he pledged to our community upon his election,” a Change.org petition launched by Kamloops Citizens United (KCU) said.

“Councillor Bill Sarai has deliberately misled the residents of Kamloops since his election, in a calculated effort to discredit and undermine the integrity of the office of the Mayor,” the petition added. “This has resulted in a large, ongoing cost to taxpayers in staff time, wasted productivity and legal fees.”

The petition was created Friday (Nov. 29) after reporting by iNFONews.ca revealed details about the spat between Sarai and Hamer-Jackson, which included yelling that could be heard in areas near the mayor’s office at City Hall.

iNFONews.ca acquired the nearly seven minute recording this week via a Freedom of Information request, having previously reported on a clip of it in October.

1000 Ways to Heal

1000 Ways to Heal: Secwepemcul'ew

10h ago

Question of the Week

Are you happy with the way Justin Trudeau is resigning and proroguing parliament to clear the way for a new leader?

11h ago

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Jimmy Carter was one of a kind

Jan 05, 2025

While Sarai sent Hamer-Jackson a 57 second clip of their exchange in late September, he did not reveal that he had recorded it. At the time, Sarai said that he had been sent the copy of the clip, leading Hamer-Jackson to report the incident to police believing that his office may have been bugged.

While Kamloops RCMP investigated the matter, they did not recommend any charges.

In Canada, it is legal to record a private conversation if at least one person is aware that the conversation is being recorded. That person can be the one doing the recording.

“Councillor Bill Sarai’s unprofessional and underhanded actions have tarnished his reputation as a council member, and brought it into disrepute; further eroding public trust in our local government,” the KCU petition added.

“To restore civility, transparency, and accountability at City Hall, we insist on a fully public inquiry to investigate the extent of Councillor Bill Sarai’s misconduct and determine whether others conspired in his deceit.”

Reached for comment, Sarai told CFJC Today that he has “said all that he has to say.”

“I’m not proud of what I did, but this person [the mayor] brings out the worst of everybody,” Sarai told Castanet on Thursday (Nov. 28).

Castanet also noted that Sarai was “intending to ask the mayor to apologize for a perceived insult sent via text message a month earlier” and that he “decided to secretly record audio in case the meeting went ‘sideways.'”

This is the second known secretly recorded conversation among city officials in Kamloops. The first was a March 2023 phone call between CAO David Trawin and Hamer-Jackson, which the mayor said was recorded by his wife.

KCU – the group that is behind the lawsuit against the Alternative Approval Process (AAP) connected to Build Kamloops – is not calling for Hamer-Jackson’s resignation over that recording, which related to the Noble Creek Irrigation System.

That March recording however led to an internal investigation, and a new policy that prohibited the recording of conversations of City staff without the consent of all parties involved.

While online petitions on Change.org have led to action being taken in other instances, it remains to be seen what the next course of action will be in this case.

The next meeting of Kamloops City Council is scheduled for Dec. 10.