Kamloops City Council has unveiled the full report it submitted earlier this year to Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon, detailing what the collective group sees as the root of the schism between itself and the Mayor of Kamloops.
Submitted to Victoria on February 13th of this year, the report is a follow-up to a request made by Ravi Kahlon through a December 2024 letter requesting an update on how things were progressing when it came to implementing suggestions and recommendations through what’s been dubbed the Braun Report.
In its synopsis of the 433-page document forwarded to Kahlon, Council suggests very little has been done to turn the recommendations by the former mayor of Abbotsford into meaningful action.
“Ministerial Advisor Braun identified three broad categories of improvement for Mayor Hamer-Jackson and made ten recommendations, all of which were focused on improving the Mayor’s conduct and communication issues as well as his governance and leadership skills,” stated Council in its letter to the Minister. “In our view, the Mayor has not undertaken any meaningful work toward any of the ten recommendations [in the Braun Report].”
Henry Braun delivering his municipal advisor report to Kamloops Council on May 7, 2024. (Photo via Brett Mineer)
“In fact, Mayor Hamer-Jackson has not, at any time, accepted the findings or Report of Ministerial Advisor Braun, and instead, has publicly denounced the entire process and called into question Ministerial Advisor Braun’s credentials and qualifications,” added Council in its ‘foreword’ to the massive collection documents.
The letter to the Municipal Affairs Minister also includes an entreaty, pleading with Kahlon for “further intervention,” arguing that if no further steps are taken, Hamer-Jackson will ” continue unabated in his mistreatment of staff and his seeming disregard for his mayoral duties and responsibilities.”
The letter goes on to allege the actions of the Mayor though the first half of this current municipal term has cost the City of Kamloops over a million dollars in through legal fees, staff time and staff resources.
“The Mayor’s misconduct is far beyond anything the City has ever seen from an elected official,” the letter argues. “This is simply unacceptable, and completely unsustainable for our community.”
In making the letter public on Monday in his role as Deputy Mayor, Councillor Mike O’Reilly says the documents underscore what Council sees as a continuing threat to the City as a functioning, corporate entity.
“We’ve had 24 substantiated complaints against the mayor, including findings of bullying and harassment, as well as 21 confirmed privacy breaches,” said O’Reilly in conversation with Radio NL after the public release of the report on Monday. “This report lays out the serious risks and legal challenges that the City must manage, while putting measures in place to protect our corporation and community.”
The plea from Kamloops Council for “further intervention” does not include any specifics about what type of action it would like to see.
But it does echo recommendations made to the BC government from the previous Union of BC Municipalities convention in September, which would be to give municipalities their own powers to take action against a “rogue elected official,” as Council has described Hamer-Jackson.
“We urge you to turn your attention to this critical issue and work toward legislative reforms that will empower municipalities to uphold governance, protect public trust, and safeguard the well-being of staff and taxpayers,” stated Council in its document to Kahlon.
Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon meets with members of Kamloops Council in summer of 2024 after announcing BC Builds project for Columbia Precinct lands off Columbia/via Instagram
For his part, Ravi Kahlon has taken a much more active role in the political turmoil than his predecessor Anne Kang, who — while tapping Henry Braun to be a municipal advisor — would otherwise not directly engage.
Kahlon, on the other hand, has been more hands-on.
He met with Council in early April while in Kamloops in his role as the Housing Minister, and has previously warned of the decline in the City’s reputation.
“Unfortunately, Kamloops went from [being] known as the Tournament Capital, to now being framed as the challenges surrounding Mayor and Council,” lamented Kahlon in a previous conversation with Radio NL. That’s not good. It’s not good for the City. It’s not good for the residents of the community,” added Kahlon at the time.
What the Municipal Affairs Minister has been unwilling to discuss any results or recommendations which may end up flowing from a wide-ranging review of the Municipal Affairs Act that began under former Minister Anne Kang.
The next round of local elections in BC are due to take place late next year.
