Hamer-Jackson responsible for 'numerous' privacy breaches, City of Kamloops report says

Photo: KTW file photo.

A 433-page report published Monday by Kamloops city council details a number of issues with Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson.

Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson has racked up nearly two dozen confirmed privacy breaches over the course of his term, with “numerous” infractions reported to the provincial privacy commissioner’s office.

The mayor's history of privacy breaches is laid out in a 433-page dossier published Monday on the City of Kamloops website. The report was compiled for Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon, who asked for an update on city council's work to implement the recommendations of an independent adviser tasked last year with helping the mayor and council work through their differences.

In the document, council said it continues to struggle with “significant and persistent harm” caused by Hamer-Jackson’s conduct, including repeated breaches of privacy and confidentiality.

Coun. Mike O’Reilly said the 21 confirmed privacy breaches are “extremely concerning to all of council.”

“We deal with privilege and confidential documents multiple times a day sometimes, and the damage these documents could do to the corporation if they got out in the wrong time or to the wrong hands is significant,” O’Reilly said.

“As it stands right now, we have a financial impact of well over $1 million that the taxpayer of Kamloops is having to pay because of the mayor's actions — and frankly, most of them aren't mistakes. They are intentional.”

Several warning letters

Copies of seven letters sent to Hamer-Jackson warning about various privacy breaches are included in council’s report.

The earliest letter, dated Feb. 22, 2023, said the city’s privacy officer believed one breach — involving a voicemail containing personal information sent to the mayor but ending up with a non-city representative — was “the result of misjudgement.”

However, letters sent later in 2023 and in 2024 order Hamer-Jackson to stop disclosing others' personal information in public settings, and demand the return of confidential documents.

In a court affidavit included in council’s report, Stephanie Nichols, City of Kamloops’ privacy officer, said she’s sent several privacy breach notices to Hamer-Jackson over the course of his term.

“Mayor Hamer-Jackson’s conduct has resulted in my office having to report numerous privacy breaches to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner,” Nichols said.

The letters include detailed information on elected officials' legislated responsibilities when it comes to privacy, including under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the Community Charter, and the city's own code of conduct bylaw.

One letter, dated May 10, 2023, said Hamer-Jackson left a closed council meeting with a performance review and had refused to return it when asked.

“You have advised that you intend to use the personal records for purposes other than that for which the personal information was originally collected and without the individuals’ consent, namely, for your use in an ongoing workplace investigation into your conduct,” said staff in the letter, including an apparent reference to a 2023 probe into bullying and harassment on the part of the mayor.

A letter from May 2024 said there have been "multiple situations resulting in breach of privacy," adding council members have a statutory duty to protect personal information and maintain confidentiality.

"At no time may you publicly discuss any personnel matters involving any city staff members or any of their personal information," the letter said. "you must immediately cease and desist all such public statements."

'So much bullshit'

Hamer-Jackson told Castanet Kamloops he’s never broken privacy laws. He said his own privacy was breached when a report on the confidential workplace investigation into his behaviour was first leaked to reporters in 2023.

“The privacy breaches are from the council members who are leaking stuff to you,” Hamer-Jackson told Castanet.

When asked about the 2023 letter, which said he refused to return the performance review to city staff, Hamer-Jackson said he it “makes no sense” to have a performance report that isn’t able to be reviewed, and that staff eventually “got it back.”

“I don’t care about the letters,” Hamer-Jackson said, adding he thought he was entitled to look at that performance report. “There’s so much bullshit going on in those walls of city hall. It's just unbelievable.”

Hamer-Jackson added he didn’t think he breached privacy by distributing the copy of the workplace investigative report about him because he found it in his mailbox and didn't receive it in the context of a closed meeting. He said he’d also already been asked directly about the document by news reporters.

“How could it be private if you're telling me all about it,” he said.

He said the report is all part of a “communication strategy” council has been trying to use against him since before he was elected.

O'Reilly said that notion is "absolutely incorrect."

"We would love the mayor to be there for closed meetings. We would love the mayor to participate in any committee meetings, whether it's chairing them or being a committee member, and he chooses not to do that," O'Reilly said.

"He chooses to come in every second Tuesday and throw darts for three hours, and that makes that job difficult. Nonetheless, we still have to govern and we still have to move our city forward."

O’Reilly said council has taken steps to protect confidential information from potentially being shared by Hamer-Jackson.

In its report to Kahlon, council said it has placed “strict document viewing protocols” on records containing personal information or confidential city information, denying Hamer-Jackson’s access to versions that could be shared unlawfully.

The report said city staff have also been working with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner “to minimize the harm to individuals as a result of the mayor’s numerous and ongoing privacy breaches."

Last year, Hamer-Jackson was barred from attending closed committee meetings over concerns about his numerous privacy breaches. O'Reilly noted the mayor is permitted and encouraged to attend closed council meetings.

Other details in report

The report sent to Kahlon also noted there have been 24 substantiated complaints of workplace misconduct against Hamer-Jackson, including multiple WorkSafeBC claims council is “statutorily barred from detailing.”

It includes updates on council’s efforts to follow recommendations laid out by the municipal advisor who worked with the elected officials last year, including restricting Hamer-Jackson’s access to confidential information, cutting his pay by a cumulative 40 per cent, limiting his interactions with staff, and pushing for legislative change.

The lengthy document also includes a copy of the municipal advisor’s report, court filings related to the attorney general’s petition and two lawsuits launched by Hamer-Jackson, and reports related to the three substantiated code of conduct complaints against him.

The report can be viewed in full on the City of Kamloops website.