Investigator to probe Kamloops mayor’s secretly-recorded phone calls with city staff

During the Sept. 5 meeting, Hamer-Jackson attempted to read a portion of the phone call onto the record. He admitted he had not told Trawin that the call was being recorded.

Hamer-Jackson later said his wife occasionally takes notes of telephone conversations he has related to his role as mayor and, in this case, was recording the call to assist with note-taking.

A few minutes ago, an odd sequence when Mayor RHJ tried to read aloud a transcript of a phone conversation he had with CAO David Trawin.

Before it was read, the mayor admitted he had not told Trawin at the time that the conversation was being recorded.#Kamloops

— James Peters (@Jamloops) September 5, 2023

In a news release issued Thursday, council says it launched the investigation out of a “legal duty to provide a safe workplace for its employees, free of bullying and harassment.”

As part of the investigation, Hamer-Jackson must turn over all recordings, transcripts and notes in his possession from conversations with city staff members.

The investigator will also look into instances of Hamer-Jackson “conducting conversations with city staff members in the presence of non-city representatives without the knowledge or consent of those staff members.”

Council has also called on Human Resources and Safety Director Colleen Quigley to articulate a policy governing the privacy of conversations between council members and staff.

READ Council’s full motion from the Sept. 26 closed meeting:

by James Peters

Investigator to probe Kamloops mayor’s secretly-recorded phone calls with city staff

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