Photo: The Canadian Press

Provincial Minister Ravi Kahlon was in Kamloops on Wednesday for a housing-related announcement and a meeting with city council.

B.C.’s minister of municipal affairs met with Kamloops city councillors on Wednesday to talk about what’s being done to implement the recommendations of an advisor appointed last year to help council and Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson work through governance issues.

Ravi Kahlon, who is also responsible for the provincial housing portfolio, was in Kamloops on Wednesday for a rental housing-related announcement before heading to city hall for the 1 p.m. meeting.

Kahlon confirmed the agenda featured the report authored by municipal advisor Henry Braun, which includes several recommendations specifically for Hamer-Jackson.

“We're going to discuss progress — or in some cases, not much progress — on that report,” Kahlon told reporters earlier on Wednesday.

In his report, Braun concluded the mayor shouldered the blame for council’s dysfunction due to his combativeness and unwillingness to accept feedback or admit fault.

Kahlon, who has said he supports Braun’s report and its recommendations, said he felt it’s “critically important those measures get addressed.”

“In fact, we are looking at provincial legislation to ensure that not only Kamloops has the rules in place, but that all communities in the province have rules in place to ensure that they're serving the public,” the minister said.

“Ultimately, it's the public that pays the price for continuous disputes, not following basic protocols — and that's not what we want. Kamloops [has] got a lot of challenges, like other communities, but if you're constantly breaking basic code of ethic rules, it's hard for you to move forward and address those big challenges.

“We owe it to our communities to address this really quick, and that's what we discussing today in the meeting.”

Housing also on agenda

Kahlon said the group also planned to discuss affordable housing in Kamloops.

The city didn’t meet its first year of provincially-mandated housing targets, and Kahlon has asked the municipality to provide more details and reports about housing-related initiatives.

The minister said he thinks there needs to be more certainty about where housing can be built, noting all B.C. communities must update their Official Community Plans by the end of the year.

"It’s vitally important that Kamloops not only identify where they want the housing, but they also remove barriers for that housing to be built,” Kahlon said.

“We can't continue to litigate housing decisions that have already been made, so the updated Official Community Plan that's due at the end of the year is going to be a really important milestone for the community.”

Mayor didn’t attend

The mayor chose not to attend Tuesday’s meeting.

Hamer-Jackson told Castanet Kamloops via text message that he spoke with Kahlon beforehand, and asked for a Zoom meeting to talk about the Braun report and another report from a separate independent investigation.

The mayor said he also told Kahlon he’d like an audit of housing or shelter facilities allowing drug use, saying he thinks this will help non-profits receive help.

When asked if Kahlon agreed to a Zoom meeting, Hamer-Jackson said “he didn’t say no,” adding he plans to follow up with the minister about the request.

Coun. Margot Middleton, deputy mayor for the month of April, chaired the open portion of Wednesday’s meeting. She said Hamer-Jackson was well aware of the meeting, and nothing was barring him from being in attendance.

“We're disappointed the mayor is not fulfilling his duties as as mayor of the city by attending and chairing meetings that he is supposed to be at,” Middleton said.

“The information that we receive is very beneficial to us at council, to get updates on things that are happening within our city that we are privy to, but the public is not — so, basically, the mayor is missing his opportunities to be informed about what's going on in the city,” Middleton said.

Grateful for meeting

Middleton said council is thankful Kahlon took the time to meet with them.

In a statement sent to Castanet Kamloops after the meeting, Kahlon said he was pleased to speak with council about housing and the Braun Report recommendations.

The minister also noted the mayor’s absence from the meeting.

“While it was disappointing that Mayor Hamer-Jackson indicated to me that he would not and did not attend this important discussion, I am encouraged by the council’s ongoing commitment to implementing the municipal advisor’s governance recommendations, as well as achieving our shared goals of ensuring more people can access homes they can afford in Kamloops,” the statement reads.

“We will continue to work diligently to ensure that Kamloops meets its housing targets and addresses the needs of the community.”