Kamloops city councillor Bill Sarai admitted on Dec. 3, 2024, to breaching council's code of conduct by secretly recording the mayor then lying about it.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Kamloops city council convened Tuesday afternoon to hear a councillor's apology and it's an apology council got.

Councillor Bill Sarai said the decision to secretly record the mayor was "unprofessional and unacceptable" in his address on Dec. 3, coming days after iNFOnews.ca revealed the audio recording publicly.

"I am here today to apologize to my colleagues, the residents of Kamloops and to my family. Recording my conversation with the mayor was not illegal, but it was unprofessional and unacceptable. When confronted with the source of the recording, I was truthful to the authorities but not to the mayor. And for that I apologize for lying to you, Mr. Mayor," Sarai said.

He went on to admit that he breached council's code of conduct, but that doesn't mean sanctions are coming yet. An investigation will result in an eventual report to council, followed by a vote on whether or not sanctions are warranted.

The recording was obtained through a Freedom of Information request after Sarai revealed its existence to the mayor in September. He lied to the mayor and hid publicly the fact that it was his own recording.

READ MORE: 'You're the snake': Kamloops councillor's secret recording revealed

The version he gave Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson was the one moment in which the mayor swore and yelled back. Speaking to reporters after a council meeting, Sarai said it was an "emotional" decision.

"I thought that would be enough for him to stop harassing me and accusing me of stuff that's not true," he said.

Hamer-Jackson said in the council meeting the argument with Sarai was the sole reason for subsequent investigations into his behaviour at city hall and for sanctions against him. Sarai said he was reacting to similar statements in a text message conversation, where Hamer-Jackson said none of those sanctions would be in place if not for that argument.

"Hearing two years of that, I broke down and made a mistake and sent him a clip of him yelling and screaming and swearing at me, thinking that would back him off and everything would be fine. It was a mistake I regret," Sarai said.

Though it was related to some of the investigations, the argument wasn't their sole focus.

As for his decision to make the recording itself, Sarai said it was for protection. There was no one to join the meeting and city officials tried not to meet with the mayor on their own, he said.

READ MORE: JONESIE: There's indeed a snake at Kamloops City Hall

"You didn't want to meet with him by yourself, so I decided that my safety net was going to be my recording," he told reporters.

It was after that January 2023 incident, in which Sarai was largely the person instigating the argument and yelling, that prompted an official rule that councillors not meet with the mayor alone, according to an internal workplace report.

He said he never expected the recording would become public and that he never "used it" in the nearly two years that followed, with the exception of the clip he sent to the mayor. It's not clear if he had ever shared its existence with other city officials.

Now that it's public and a code of conduct investigation is underway, Sarai said he'd expect whatever sanctions they find necessary. It's not clear how long the investigation might take, but some have taken a few months to conclude.

In his public apology, Sarai said his mental health has been "profoundly affected from the ongoing stressful environment" since the last election, and he plans to focus on his well-being in the future.

He also told reporters that he would not be stepping down amid a petition that demands his resignation.

"I made a mistake, and I'm man enough to own up to it, move on and get the help I need," Sarai said.

Sarai refused to comment when asked about his decision to hide from the public the fact he made the recording until it was released through a Freedom on Information request.

"That type of question, I'm going to wait for the third party review to come out and let them decide if that was the appropriate decision. As far as I'm concerned I should have come sooner and told (Hamer-Jackson) that it was me that was recording," he said.

Bill Sarai's full statement can be read here:

I am here today to apologize to my colleagues, the residents of Kamloops and to my family. Recording my conversation with the mayor was not illegal, but it was unprofessional and unacceptable. When confronted with the source of the recording, I was truthful to the authorities but not to the mayor. And for that I apologize for lying to you, Mr. Mayor. I realize that I broke our code of conduct and I will fully participate in any consequences deemed appropriate. I strive to hold a high standard as your publicly elected official to make discourse in our city better, to conform to professional standards instead of acting a reactionary way. It is something that I will improve on and something that this city deserves from all of our elected officials. I know I've damaged the trust I had with all of you and I am committed to doing what's necessary to earn it back. And on that I've made a decision to concentrate more on my mental health well-being, which has been profoundly affected from the ongoing stressful environment within and outside of this council chambers for the past two years. I hope you all understand that and respect my decision. Thank you.

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