Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson was stopped from using a series of photos he prepared for a speech at a business community gala in March 2024.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Kamloops and District Chamber of Commerce

It was the image that appeared to show a sex act that picked up headlines this spring when the mayor's plan for a slideshow at a business gala was canned, but it was a breach of privacy law that landed him in hot water with an investigator.

That's according to a newly released code of conduct report, the third to find fault in Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson's actions and the latest finding in a series of investigations at city hall.

Lawyer Reece Harding, who's handled nearly all council's conduct investigations, concluded the mayor broke information and privacy laws when he collected then shared five photos of seven presumably homeless people with members of Kamloops Chamber of Commerce, despite privacy training early in the term.

"Given this training, I can only conclude that he was either willfully blind to those obligations or intentionally disregarded them," the newly released Nov. 7 report reads.

The investigation started in late-March, prompted by Hamer-Jackson's attempt to pair a slideshow with his speech to the chamber gala earlier that month. City staff got word of the photos he had in mind and scrapped it.

Although Hamer-Jackson initially seemed to take part in the investigation, he backed out days before he was set to be interviewed. He was told the investigation would continue without him.

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Though he didn't change his mind, Hamer-Jackson did email Harding's law firm to say the investigation would find that his presentation was "sabotaged." He also said he wouldn't have shown a slideshow with sexual activity or drug use, despite Harding's repeated confirmation that the graphic nature of any of the photos was at issue.

Some photos showed graffiti, cardboard boxes and litter. Six photos showed eight people, one on the ground entirely covered with a blanket, and another showed two people engaged in a sexual act in an alley.

Hamer-Jackson previously told iNFOnews.ca he asked executive directors of both the downtown and North Shore business associations for photos.

From the North Shore, those were sent directly to the Chamber and from downtown they went to the mayor first. He forwarded them to the head of the chamber of commerce in the days ahead, asking they be sorted into a slideshow. 

He told iNFOnews.ca he wanted to show "positive" things in Kamloops like new developments, but he also wanted to show the "reality of what's happening to people on the streets."

He asked downtown association executive director Howie Reimer for photos of "crime and social disorder," but Hamer-Jackson didn't say why. Reimer, whose name was redacted from the report, told iNFOnews.ca he would not have shared them had he known the purpose. The other business association didn't participate in the investigation.

Rather than focusing on the single photo showing what appeared to be sexual activity, the investigator found the seven people could have all been reasonably identified. Although they were blurred and difficult to see, it was possible their features could be made out and potentially identified by someone who knew them.

Backed by the City logo, he opened the March 14 speech by telling attendees that he would have had a slideshow had the City not interfered.

"I think it was more of a personal presentation than it was representing the city and that's his purview to do, but we as staff did not intend to taint his presentation," CAO Byron McCorkell told iNFOnews.ca at the time. "We were simply acting as a corporation, and we have a process for those types of events, so we acted."

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Speaking by phone from Mexico, Hamer-Jackson said he didn't take part because Harding "does not do a good investigation" and suggested the conclusion was decided before it started. He also said he hasn't read the report.

He went on to say that he did not ask for photos of people and claimed it wasn't what he wanted. Hamer-Jackson said the "focus was smashed windows and things like that, things that were happening in Kamloops to businesses."

Although the mayor didn't take the photos and none of them were shown at the event, Harding concluded that the privacy breach came when Hamer-Jackson solicited them then forwarded them to the Chamber of Commerce.

Hamer-Jackson said he "didn't have time," then said he "possibly should have sat down" to look them over first.

"I made a mistake, I guess," he said.

Also irrelevant was Hamer-Jackson's defense of not having reviewed them first.

Government officials are held to a higher standard within the province's privacy law when sharing or using photos than the general public.

It was Hamer-Jackson's duty to both review them in advance and recognize that a government official cannot breach their privacy obligations, like sharing photos with identifiable people in them, without a lawful reason, according to the report.

"I've been in the privacy and confidentiality business my whole life and it's just amazing. I've had staff and everything, it amazes me to how somebody can go from being in a confidential business and teaching confidentiality and privacy to all the staff, and to, after meeting a few people, become the biggest breacher of confidentiality," Hamer-Jackson said to iNFOnews.ca in October, weeks before Harding completed his report.

He has been accused of breaching privacy obligations at the city, though he didn't directly reference the slideshow at the time.

The mayor often questions the validity of the times such allegations were made against him and criticizes the investigation process as the City hires firms to "get the results they want."

Early in this investigation, Hamer-Jackson's lawyer sent a letter to Harding in which he said the mayor "had no intention to use such photographs for any purpose, let alone any City-related business."

That came after news coverage in which the mayor explicitly confirmed he planned to use at least some of the photos, a contradiction Harding couldn't address directly due to the mayor's refusal to be interviewed.

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Another misleading statement to Harding came when Hamer-Jackson tried to confirm with the mayor whether the photos had been deleted. Though he was to be overseen by City staff as he did so, it never happened. Despite "claims to the contrary," the City's IT department deleted them from all the mayor's accounts and devices.

Asked about the claim, Hamer-Jackson asserted again that he deleted his copies.

Harding sent the mayor details of the allegations and evidence against him more than once throughout the investigation process and scheduled the later-cancelled interview more than a month in advance.

According to Harding, the mayor "never indicated he has a detailed understanding" of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

He went on to say the mayor was informed of the potential privacy issues at play on March 14, the day of the chamber gala, and "did not take steps" to address it.

"Ultimately, even if the mayor was not aware of the scope or specifics of (the law), absence of awareness of the law does not excuse its contravention. As an officer of a public body, the mayor is bound by certain legal obligations under (privacy law), which are not contingent on whether or not he has engaged in privacy training," the report read.

Harding went on to dismiss Hamer-Jackson's excuse that he did not review the photos before forwarding them.

"Whether the mayor knew what the photographs depicted or not is irrelevant — he collected and disclosed records that contained personal information," the report read. "The mayor has fallen well below (privacy) standards in these circumstances."

Although the sexual act became a focus in news coverage of the botched slideshow, it wasn't one for Harding. The potential implication of the Intimate Images Protection Act, laws prohibiting such images of people be shared without consent, was considered briefly. It was dropped because of the late notice and it wasn't relevant to council's code of conduct, according to the report.

Harding recommended Hamer-Jackson issue apology letters and take another mandatory training course on privacy law. Failing that, he should get another salary cut, according to the report dated Nov. 7.

It's not clear whether those recommendations were enforced, but the completed investigations won't be released publicly until they are heard in a closed council meeting.

Deputy mayor for December Margot Middleton said she wasn't authorized by council to speak on any decision that might have been made in a closed meeting.

Although he didn't take part in the investigation, Hamer-Jackson had had the opportunity to defend himself, or make a statement, at the closed meeting it was discussed. Whether he attended isn't clear and he's made a habit of not attending closed meetings.

The complainant, councillor Dale Bass, and the mayor would not have been present for any debate or decision on the report.

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