Kamloops mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson (right) and BC cabinet minister Ravi Kahlon speak outside Kamloops city hall on April 23, 2025.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Kamloops mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson decided to forgo a meeting today with BC's housing and municipal affairs minister suggesting he'd be "kicked out" anyway.

Minister Ravi Kahlon's office reached out last week to offer time for a meeting today and the mayor told iNFOnews.ca he asked that it be alone in his office in the basement of city hall but that didn't happen.

Council opted for an impromptu closed-door meeting with the minister and it's likely all but the mayor attended.

Outside city hall today, Kahlon said he wouldn't kick the mayor out and repeatedly urged Hamer-Jackson to join an upcoming closed-door session with city council.

"Mayor, I'm not going to bite. Come on," he said in an effort to encourage Hamer-Jackson to join.

The mayor told Kahlon to go on without him, claiming he'd be "kicked out" or someone might call RCMP if he joined.

"If everyone is in the meeting, I stay in the meeting. If one person gets kicked out, I leave, so you should come," Kahlon said.

Kahlon was at a housing-related news conference just before the meeting, where he told reporters he and city council were slated to discuss housing targets and last year's report from municipal advisor Henry Braun.

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He remarked during the event, an hour before the council meeting, he sees Kamloops council so frequently it was like seeing "family" when he visits the city. Hamer-Jackson wasn't present.

What specifically was discussed in the meeting and whether any council decisions were made isn't known. Council may vote to release information from the closed-door meeting.

Hamer-Jackson was initially frustrated not only because council called a closed-door meeting, but he said his repeated efforts to glean what was on the agenda for the special meeting were stifled by deputy mayor Margot Middleton.

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While speaking to reporters, a city employee informed Hamer-Jackson she did send him the confidential agenda, despite his initial denials.

"I don't sit here — I've got 37 emails and phone calls. I don't sit here and talk to you guys at the same time and be on my phone, so when I'm in meetings and stuff you're not going to do that," Hamer-Jackson told reporters upon discovering Middleton's email.

In a statement to iNFOnews.ca, Middleton and Kahlon said they were "disappointed" Hamer-Jackson didn't show.

Middleton said council wasn't surprised, however, as he has refused to join closed council meetings for months. She added it was "particularly disrespectful" to Kahlon as it was the minister who asked for the meeting.

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Citing his ongoing personal issues with city councillors and restrictions imposed on him for the past two years, Hamer-Jackson said he wouldn't go inside even if only to test whether he'd be allowed to stay.

Asked whether he would consider setting aside personal issues to address Kahlon and city-related matters, he said, "this isn't personal."

"We're an embarrassment to the freaking world over what we're doing here," the mayor said.

The specifics of the meeting have not so far been released, but Kahlon said he's "encouraged" by council's progress with the municipal advisor's recommendations and efforts to cut red tape for developers.

"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," Kahlon said in a written statement.

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