Reid Hamer-Jackson (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

UNPAID LEGAL FEES

Kamloops mayor avoids day in court after formally acknowledging unpaid debts to lawyer; looks to council for reimbursement

Aug 14, 2025 | 4:14 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson was set to appear in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday (Aug 14) over unpaid legal fees to his lawyer Daniel Coles and his Vancouver-based Owen Bird Law Firm.

The lawsuit which was filed back in April claimed Hamer-Jackson owed Coles and his law firm more than $52,000 in unpaid fees. The two sides reached a consent certificate of fees which avoided their day in court after Hamer-Jackson formally acknowledged his debt which now totals $41,998.46.

Hamer-Jackson retained Daniel Coles in the fall of 2023 after he parted ways with David McMillan, who has also sued the mayor for unpaid legal fees. Much of Coles’ invoices were for work on either “Code of Conduct Matters and Related Workplace Investigations” or “Miscellaneous Allegations and Investigations”.

Speaking to CFJC Thursday, Hamer-Jackson was asked if he felt he has breached the city’s City’s Code of Conduct at any time during his term, his answer was short.

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“No,” responded Hamer-Jackson. “Zero (times).”

That claim, however, is refuted in a recent city document sent to the Provincial Government which stated that independent investigations have substantiated 24 complaints of inappropriate behavior on the part of Hamer-Jackson as well as breaches of privacy and the Code of Conduct.

Section of report issued by city of Kamloops (credit – city of Kamloops)

“We post everything online, where people can look and see any Code of Conduct breaches,” outlined councillor Mike O’Reilly. “As an example, we know that the mayor has broken privacy 27 times.”

“And these aren’t things the City of Kamloops decides, these are substantiated by an independent investigator.”

Section of report issued by city of Kamloops (credit – city of Kamloops)

Hamer-Jackson stated that the city’s report is simply false and he has accused the city of hiring lawyers to “get the result they want, not to find the truth.”

Coles also worked with Hamer-Jackson on defamation cases against Councillor Katie Neustaeter, which is set to return to court next month, as well as local developer Joshua Knaak.

“I’m going to be paying Dan Coles and Owen Bird and they will be writing a letter to the city council because if it wasn’t for our new Code of Conduct bylaw and 20 plus complaints I would still have money in the trust accounts, a lot of money in the trust account,” said Hamer-Jackson.

Coles confirmed to CFJC News that late last month, the mayor agreed to formally acknowledge his debt.

“In late July the Mayor agreed to formally acknowledge his debt to Owen Bird, and on August 12 my office entered a Consent Certificate of Fees in the Supreme Court of British Columbia confirming the amount owing to my law firm,” wrote Coles in an emailed statement. “On that basis, I was able to adjourn the Legal Profession Act hearing scheduled for today in this matter.”

“I look forward to prompt payment of our accounts, and I wish the Mayor the best going forward.”

Hamer-Jackson said he will be looking to city council for reimbursement for the nearly $42,000 owed to Coles.

“If they do the right thing then I should be able to pay him that day,” said Hamer-Jackson. “And they just give me cheque for all these Code of Conduct complaints that are frivolous and dismissed and everything else.”

There is an avenue through the Code of Conduct bylaw by which the mayor could be reimbursed, though it would require a vote of council.

“[It would be] via indemnification and that is something that is open to any elected official, and certainly Mayor Hamer-Jackson is able to do that,” explained O’Reilly. “But again as it stands right now, these issues have been substantiated, and it’s open for the public to see and look at the investigations themselves.”

“So it’s not a he said, she said, it’s this is the report.”

If the vote seeking reimbursement is successful, city taxpayers would be on the hook to pay Hamer-Jackson’s unpaid legal fees, and not individual councillors as argued by Hamer-Jackson.

The entire report issued by the city of Kamloops regarding the dysfunction at city hall and the breaches by Hamer-Jackson can be read here.

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Editor’s note: Daniel Coles and Owen Bird act for clients from a diverse range of fields and industries including the media industry. Coles and Owen Bird have acted on behalf of Pattison Media in legal matters not related to the City of Kamloops, Reid Hamer-Jackson or any other individuals involved in this proceeding.