Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson browsing the Integrity Group Report in his office. (CFJC Today File Photo)

By Victor Kaisar

More Legal Woes

B.C.’s attorney general demands Kamloops mayor return Integrity Group report

Jan 30, 2025 | 4:56 PM

KAMLOOPS — B.C’s Attorney General is taking Kamloops mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson to court.

Niki Sharma has asked Hamer-Jackson to return all copies of the Integrity Group Report, also known as the Honcharuk report, to the City of Kamloops.

That’s the report Hamer-Jackson shared with members of the media in April last year, claiming he mysteriously received a copy in his mailbox with a Tofino return address. The mayor has also said he is not aware if the document he distributed is genuine as he has not been provided a copy officially.

According to the court filing, the City received the report in a closed council meeting, though the mayor wasn’t provided with a copy, as he was considered to be in a conflict of interest as his “behaviour forms the subject of the report.”

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It said all members of Council were given an electronic copy of the report “with various security features to prevent [it] from being printed, saved, and shared.”

“Even if the Mayor was entitled to possess the report (which he is not), he still could not use or disseminate it without offending the Community Charter,” the petition said. “Section 117 requires the Mayor, as a council member, to keep in confidence any record held in confidence by the municipality and any information considered in any part of a council meeting that was lawfully closed to the public.”

The petition also says that since Hamer-Jackson announced that he had a copy of the confidential report, the City of Kamloops and the Attorney General have unsuccessfully demanded that he return or destroy any copies in his possession.

“To date, the Mayor has not returned the report to the City nor confirmed his destruction of the Report in his possession,” the petition said, while noting that mayor has repeatedly said that he intends to use the report for various purposes including to “clear his name.”

“The City maintains its solicitor-client privilege and in-camera confidentiality over the report. That someone leaked the report to the Mayor who subsequently leaked the report to the media does not detract from the City’s custody and control of the personal information contained within the report.”

“In the Attorney General’s view, the appropriate perspectives are those whose personal information is within the report. They provided the City with their personal information, not the Mayor nor those to whom the Mayor leaked the report.”

In addition to returning any paper copies he has, Hamer-Jackson also must permanently delete any electronic copies he may have and let the attorney general know who he gave a copy of the report to.

Sharma’s petition also asks the mayor to pay all legal costs and that any exhibits that contain portions of the report be sealed.

Speaking to CFJC Today Thursday (Jan. 30), Hamer-Jackson said he is aware of the petition from the attorney general, and that while he is “shocked,” he has no plans to fight it.

To view the full petition, click here.

CFJC will have more on this story on Friday.

The Integrity Group report is pictured here. (CFJC Today File Photo)