Kamloops City Council has voted to extend the suspension of public input at regular council meetings until the end of the current term, following a heated debate over whether residents should be allowed to speak during meetings.
The discussion revisited a May 27, 2025, resolution that initially paused public input—previously called “public inquiries”—after council concerns over disruptions and the ability to manage speakers. Council considered whether to set a date to resume public input or maintain the suspension for the remainder of the current term.
Councillor Mike O’Reilly expressed cautious openness to reinstating public input, emphasizing flexibility. “To allow people to come and speak, that I would be open to that… should it happen to get out of control… then suspend it again for the rest of the term,” O’Reilly said.
Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson was advocating for a return to how input was dealt with before any changes were made to the process. “I think we should go back to the status quo of November 1st and go from there… there were people that were last term with the old council that were standing up here and getting out of hand,” he said, referencing past disruptions. He added, “You can go to video archives… it’s all on record,” in response to councillors questioning his management of public input.
Other councillors weighed in with mixed perspectives. Councillor Kelly Hall noted the challenge of managing public input, saying, “I’ve got some appetite for that… if it’s managed properly… if it does get out of control, then we go back to what we have currently right now.” Councillor Bill Sarai suggested a trial period: “Let’s try it for 30 days and see if that works… but again, it’s city business and I think it’s on you [Mayor] to let us do the city business and let staff present to us and let the residents talk about something that is on the agenda.”
Councillor Katie Neustaeter spoke strongly in favor of continuing the suspension: “If we don’t pass it as it is, we are suckers for punishment once again… inviting that in to disrupt our work and costing the taxpayer money by hours and hours of fruitless conversation.” Councillor Stephen Karpuk also opposed reinstating public input, criticizing the mayor’s leadership: “Your inability to chair is very evident… Your behaviour now is now turning me to… against this… If we’re talking about civil discourse, this would be a violation of what we were supposed to be here for.”
Following the debate, council voted to suspend public input until the end of the current term, ensuring that residents will not have the opportunity to speak at regular council meetings until a new council is elected.
Public input at Kamloops council meetings has been a recurring issue since last year. In January 2025, council temporarily paused “public inquiries” following a Zoom-bombing incident that broadcast inappropriate material during a meeting. A brief return in May 2025 was suspended after concerns that the process was being abused and causing disruptions to council business.
City staff will continue reviewing options for public engagement, including potential procedural changes or a new public input bylaw, though no timeline has been set for resuming resident participation.
