PETERS: Three-and-a-half years into the term, Kamloops council dysfunction has not improved one iota

Take the discussion on the Pathways shelter this week.

Staff and council have obviously received a legal opinion that Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson’s participation in this issue opens the city up to serious liability.

He is in the midst of suing a director of the company that owns the property. A city-hired investigator has determined that puts the mayor in a conflict of interest.

As a result, staff asks Hamer-Jackson every time the issue comes up to clarify the legal advice he claims clears him of conflict.

And every time he is asked, he gets more and more agitated, sniping at staff members, then at councillors with his laundry list of personal grievances.

Some of those councillors can’t resist getting baited into throwing off their own adherence to decorum, joining the peanut gallery with muttered sarcasm and thinly veiled insults.

A discussion on legitimate city business devolves into the mayor lashing out like a caged animal while a roomful of lion tamers try to get the meeting back under control, shouting out points of order and demands for silence.

This diversion from constructive debate into a quagmire of schoolyard bullying happens at least once per meeting.

Council has instituted a civil discourse statement, has received a report from a municipal adviser, has launched code of conduct complaints, has cut the mayor’s pay – and none of these measures have actually solved the dysfunction problem.

Earlier in this term, then-Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon seemed to be working on strengthening provincial rules to deal with situations like these on the municipal level.

Then Kahlon was shuffled out of the role and new minister Christine Boyle has offered little insight into what changes are planned.

This week, Boyle’s ministry told CFJC changes are on track to be enacted in concert with this October’s municipal election.

Boyle would be best advised to include recall provisions in any changes she brings forward, so communities like Kamloops can correct their election day mistakes before 1,259 days go by.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.

by James Peters

PETERS: Three-and-a-half years into the term, Kamloops council dysfunction has not improved one iota

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