
Petition to disqualify Kamloops councillor over perceived conflict of interest dismissed
KAMLOOPS — A judge has tossed out a group’s effort to have a Kamloops city councillor removed from office over an alleged conflict of interest.
On October 31, 2024, a group of 10 residents filed a petition in BC Supreme Court calling for Councillor Mike O’Reilly’s disqualification from office, saying his participation in the Build Kamloops process represented a conflict. The group also sought to have the judge order a new process to choose a location for a proposed arena multiplex. Last December, Justice Kenneth Ball refused to allow the group to add an 11th petitioner.
O’Reilly is the president and CEO of Comet Industries, and holds shares in the publicly-traded company. Comet is building an industrial park on a 190-acre plot of land in the area of Iron Mask Road. That site is about four kilometres from the Hillside Drive location chosen by council for the multiplex. O’Reilly chaired council’s Build Kamloops Select Committee in 2024, when it recommended the Hillside Drive site.