Kamloops mayor’s latest code of conduct breach costs taxpayers $52k; total tab nears $500k

The first issue tackled in the report was finding that the mayor shared sensitive personal information about a staff members on three separate occasions.

section investigation report authored by Reece Harding

The exact emails and texts were redacted from the report in order to protect the employee.

The second issue was with regards to whether or not the actions of the mayor entered the realm of bullying, harassment and intimidation.

section investigation report authored by Reece Harding

The latest report cost $52,360.63 to complete, with investigator Reece Harding stating the mayor’s unwillingness to participate helped drive up that cost to taxpayers.

“In my view, it is clear from the narrative above that the Mayor’s failure to participate in this investigation led to significant delays in the production of this investigation report and has increased the cost of this investigation,” reads the report authored by Harding.

Harding highlighted his team’s attempts to get the mayor to cooperate with the investigation, noting Hamer-Jackson stopped responding after receiving what he had previously been requesting.

section investigation report authored by Reece Harding

City council was presented with the report during a closed meeting in March and followed through with the three recommendations from Harding, including a public censure, a 5 per cent pay cut until an apology is issued, and an additional 5 per cent cut until the mayor takes mandatory training on protection of privacy.

The full report can be read here: https://www.kamloops.ca/sites/default/files/2026-04/IR%20Report%202025-0029%20%28Redacted%20for%20Public%20Release%29.pdf

There have been 29 code of conduct complaints lodged during this term of council. This is the seventh complaint that has been substantiated by an investigator and fifth against the mayor. The other two substantiated complaints were made against Councillor Bill Sarai.

Eleven code of conduct complaints have been dismissed and 10 have been withdrawn. Another complaint was made by Hamer-Jackson against Harding, claiming bias. The investigator found no actual evidence of bias.

With this investigation concluded, there are no longer any open code of conduct investigations in progress. The total price tag of all code of conduct complaint investigations has now reached $496.049.30.

by Michael Reeve

Kamloops mayor’s latest code of conduct breach costs taxpayers $52k; total tab nears $500k

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