Kamloops city council code of conduct investigator lawyer and mediator Reece Harding.

Image Credit: Young Anderson Barristers & Solicitors

The investigator probing Kamloops council's conduct for the past two years said he isn't biased.

That's after repeated accusations from Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson, prompting investigator Reece Harding to pause three investigations to self-reflect.

According to his own report, Harding does "not have a disqualifying bias, either real or apprehended."

The May 2025 letter was recently published to the city website.

"While I was critical of your conduct in these complaints, I did not make comments that were gratuitous or unfounded. The nature of a code complaint is such that, where a breach is found, there will inherently be some criticism of the person whose conduct is at issue," he wrote in his report.

At that time, Harding had twice found the mayor breached council's code of conduct and dismissed several other complaints. His investigation into himself cost the city $9,534.

It was before his damning conclusion this summer, finding Hamer-Jackson breached the conduct bylaw and the province's Community Charter due to conflict of interest violations.

Although Hamer-Jackson spurred the self-investigation, he didn't support the claim beyond making broad accusations, rehashing a years-old grievance with a city councillor and claiming Harding made "assumptions" about him in a previous code of conduct finding. The mayor refused to be interviewed during that investigation.

"Are these real investigations like the RCMP or investigators and investigation companies?" the mayor said in a May 2 email to Harding.

A week later, Harding gave him until May 22 to offer supporting evidence to prove his bias. Hamer-Jackson did not respond.

The mayor was a now-show at a closed council meeting in June where council considered his request they replace Harding with someone else. They found no reason to replace him and had no supporting evidence from Hamer-Jackson to do so, according to a notice on the city website.

Harding, who works at the Vancouver law firm Young Anderson, has investigated more than two dozen conduct complaints among Kamloops city council.

It's the first term the conduct regime has been in place for nearly all cities across BC, but Harding has a lengthy background in municipal law, previously working as the integrity commissioner at Surrey city hall.

His report, partially redacted, summarizes his past conduct reports and legal precedence setting out how an investigator should examine whether they are biased.

"I have been mindful that my role is to be independent and to help council, who ultimately has the remedial discretion under the code, make a rational and proportional decision," Harding's report read. "I do not believe that a reasonable person, viewing the matter objectively, would find that my criticisms rise to the level of disqualifying bias."

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