Kamloops mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson wants a workplace investigation into his alleged harassment made public.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Reid Hamer-Jackson for Mayor
August 11, 2023 - 6:00 AM
The mayor of Kamloops says the workplace investigation report centred around him should be public, but he also wants to know who leaked the confidential documents.
The investigation, which mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson didn't participate in, found he violated the council code of conduct on multiple occasions. Kamloops This Week reported some details from the investigation this month, including the consequences council voted to place on the mayor.
It was provided to the newspaper by a confidential source, and the mayor believes the city should be investigating to find out who that was.
"The biggest headline should be who leaked this to the media, because that's the biggest thing here right now," Hamer-Jackson said. "Because whoever leaked that to the media, I believe, needs to be dealt with."
READ MORE: Kamloops mayor won't comment on workplace investigation
Deputy mayor for the month Coun. Bill Sarai said he could neither confirm nor deny whether council has voted to investigate the leak.
If there is an investigation, chief administrative officer David Trawin said it would be difficult to determine where it came from.
"We can do audits on computers and it's up to council to decide whether they want to do the investigation, but there's only so much you can do," he said.
Trawin could not comment on the leaked report specifically, in part because he was one of the complainants in the workplace investigation.
He and the mayor were not present for the closed council meeting in which the report was presented.
Hamer-Jackson, meanwhile, is going to try to find where the leak came from.
READ MORE: Kamloops mayor, councillor spill the beans in court filings
"If the mayor doesn't make any effort and I don't make any effort, who would you expect to?" Hamer-Jackson's lawyer, David McMillan said. "We can't allow a city council to operate in this manner."
While Hamer-Jackson and Trawin both voiced concern about the breach of confidentiality, the mayor not only wants a copy for himself, but maintains the report should be public. It's not clear whether council will consider doing so.
Information from closed council meetings are required to be kept confidential until council votes to release it to the public. Even if approved with a vote, they will then decide how much information to release.
It's not clear whether the leak came from a staff member or an elected official, but one can look north to Prince George to find a case where a councillor was found to have leaked confidential information to the CBC in 2008.
Brian Skakun was ordered to pay a $750 fine in 2011 for leaking an investigation showing the Prince George RCMP superintendent was harassing civilian employees at the detachment. Skakun was not disqualified from office.
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