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(KIM ANDERSON / iNFOnews.ca)

The province's minister for municipal affairs gave his official support for an advisor whose report to Kamloops city council pointed to the mayor as the source of nearly all city hall's dysfunction.

Minister Ravi Kahlon backed advisor Henry Braun's report and his list of recommendations in a letter he sent to council last month, while acknowledging the issues at city hall have not subsided.

"While I recognize that council has made some progress towards implementing the recommendations of the report, I also understand that governance challenges are continuing," his Dec. 24 letter reads.

Braun's report was issued in May 2024 and included a list of recommendations for Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson and for council as a whole. Braun pointed to council as a minor contributor to strife around the horseshoe, but largely blamed the mayor.

Hamer-Jackson, meanwhile, continues to question the legitimacy of Braun's report, first questioning why the initial advisor, Peter Fassbender, was ousted from the job.

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"Well, my first thought is, what happened to Peter Fassbender?" Hamer-Jackson said.

Why Fassbender was replaced isn't known, but Braun replaced him by February and the mayor went on to explain his side of spats between another councillor and with CAO David Trawin—matters Braun didn't specifically deal with as he tried to coach elected officials through their differences.

"Why does Ravi (Kahlon) think it's such a credible report?" Hamer-Jackson said.

Braun's recommendations have informed council decisions against the mayor since it was finished last spring. At the outset of his report, Braun said his attempts to work through their differences was more difficult than he envisioned, particularly due to Hamer-Jackson's "tendency to shift the focus" away from a direct question.

Kamloops city council attached Kahlon's letter to a Jan. 10 news release, which includes a commitment to give the minister periodic progress updates following Braun's report.

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Councillor and deputy mayor for January, Kelly Hall, said he and his colleagues are "very excited" that Kahlon endorsed the report. He went on to suggest Kamloops is just one example the ministry is watching as the province reviews the ongoing use of codes of conduct policies in local governments.

Though the code of conduct is a separate policy from the ministry's appointment of Braun as an advisor, it's the policy that allows council to take action on their own rogue colleagues.

The Union of BC Municipalities put out a call for feedback from local governments on their codes of conduct, which came into effect during this election term for those that adopted them. The deadline was in early December and Hall said Kamloops has suggested those that haven't adopted a similar policy get on board. He said roughly a third of municipalities in the province have not.

"We're encouraging UBCM to have the other 30 per cent come forward and do exactly what municipalities like Kamloops have already done, and that's to have a code of conduct that has some teeth to it, so when you get into situations that we've encountered, there's an opportunity to take specific measures and resolve challenges," he said.

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What changes, if any, the province might be mulling to rein in councils that cannot work together or rogue politicians isn't clear, but Hall feels it's important for local governments to keep their autonomy.

"One of the things that was recommended from the province, and I think the province would want to have this opportunity, is to take control of some of the challenges," he said. "Some of us at this table have a certain concern about all of a sudden you have the municipality being addressed by the province."

Hamer-Jackson has faced consequences from council over the last several months both related to Braun's report and to code of conduct investigations.

Following Braun's report, Hamer-Jackson was removed from outside boards in July, including the Thompson Nicola Regional District. He has also taken multiple salary cuts related to code of conduct investigations.

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