Kamloops mayor and council offer differing opinions of recently released letter

Hamer-Jackson says he’s been asking for the letter to go public since Day 1.

“I’ve always said that lies they come out, the truth will come out,” said Hamer-Jackson. “And it’s coming out now. It’s taken this long. It took (Bill) Sarai… it wasn’t that he wanted to release that six-plus-minute audio and I think they are coming to the realization that they may be held accountable themselves individually. And I just hope they are going to have a special meeting, closed meeting to go back and give me all my money back.”

Back in 2022, the letter was delivered by Sarai, who was serving as deputy mayor at the time, along with a pair of councillors.

“The will of council was the deputy mayor present the letter to him. Basically (saying) that we have looked into it, we have all learned from it — let’s move forward,” said Sarai Wednesday (Aug. 20). “I was instructed to take two other councillors with me and it didn’t go over well. Two months in, the mayor actually messaged that he felt he was ambushed by myself and two councillors coming to talk to him.”

The reasons behind the letter are multiple, first highlighting the work being done with regards to ASK Wellness. At the time, Hamer-Jackson and ASK CEO Bob Hughes were involved in a defamation case.

“Even if you resolve the defamation allegations, there’s still a reasonable concern of bias. As long as your public hostility toward them continues, the public may perceive that your personal interests are interfering with your official duties. This exposes both you and the decisions of Council to legal challenge when matters involving ASK and/or Mr. Hughes come before Council. Because ASK contracts with the City, receives funding from the city, and is one of the primary social service agencies in the City, the potential for conflict is significant.”

“Additionally, we feel that these problems were only exacerbated again by your personal lawyer’s recent communications with legal counsel for ASK and Mr. Hughes. By using your mayoral title and referring to your official powers to create a “task force” that will review and audit social service agencies who “receive funding from the City” (such as ASK) in a “fault-finding” investigation, your lawyer has blurred the line between your public office and your personal legal dispute.”

The letter also addresses issues around ‘invoking [Hamer-Jackson’s] mayoral title’ in giving municipal employees jobs or tasks.

“We have also been advised that you have, on more than one occasion, invoked your mayoral title and office to direct municipal staff during the course of their employment duties. Again, Council is not responsible for the operational activities of municipal staff. That is not our job. No elected official – not even the mayor – has the authority to direct municipal staff in the conduct of their official employment duties. This type of conduct interferes with municipal operations and exposes the City to employee grievances and other legal complaints.”

Additionally, the letter states somebody — whose name was redacted — received a threatening phone call.

“We were alarmed to learn that [Redacted] received a threatening telephone call at [Redacted] residence in the early morning hours of December 8th. The caller appears to have been under the misapprehension that [Redacted] was somehow working against you. We do not raise this incident to direct blame; rather, we wish simply to remind you that, as elected officials, our public comments carry added weight and can have significant consequences.”

Much like the issues around ASK Wellness and the use of security near his used car dealership, Hamer-Jackson stated the claims of the caller being his friend or supporter are false.

“We have chosen to address these issues with you confidentially as an act of good faith, and because we wish to put an end to these divisive and unproductive distractions and get on with the business of running the City. We look forward to turning the page and working together for the benefit of all Kamloops citizens”

Sarai stated the reason the letter is now coming forward is for better transparency around the challenges of the current term.

“As we are getting the approval, we are releasing everything so the public can see. We are trying to be transparent and good governance to show what we have been up against since December of 2022,” stated Sarai. “And that is the whole point of it. It’s not to lay blame. It’s what did we have to deal with one month into being elected which we are still dealing with two-and-a-half years later.”

The letter first passed through the hands of the city’s legal team, where it received several redactions, illustrating a path that could become more common over the next year.

“Personally, I hope so. Transparency and good governance is what we want,” said Sarai. “And we want the public to know. They are asking what is going on, and they need to know we aren’t here to cause conflict and bring matters out into the public. But we have to act on the best interest of the corporation.”

Releasing more documents is a rare item both sides agree upon, with the mayor calling for the independent Integrity Group report to be next.

“Now I think what they want to do is release the real Honchurak report, because I have never seen the real Honchurak report and from what I see, the only sensitive information in there is people lying. And some of the same individuals… it’s just pathetic,” added Hamer-Jackson.

The full letter can be read here.

by Michael Reeve

Kamloops mayor and council offer differing opinions of recently released letter

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