Former cabinet minister Peter Fassbender and former premier Christy Clark pictured at a 2015 news conference.

Image Credit: FLICKR/Province of BC

Just when Kamloops thought it had a provincial advisor to help Kamloops city council with its internal dysfunction, the ministry responsible ousted him within days of his appointment.

Though another advisor was hired soon after, resulting in last year's so-called Braun Report, the reason the initial advisor was shown the door remains elusive, even after an iNFOnews.ca Freedom of Information request revealed hundreds of internal government emails about the topic.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs emails give some insight to the search for an advisor to guide the embattled city council from October to December 2023. The emails show how the ministry had few options and they hint at why Peter Fassbender might have been fired.

In the days leading up to what the province called a "new direction," there were insurance hold-ups and efforts to get the premier's input before all definitive answers disappear under a censor's pen. Left in the dark were Fassbender, who lost the $30,000 contract, and the public, waiting for someone to mend the rift at city hall.

"The only explanation I got was they had decided to go in a different direction," Fassbender told iNFOnews.ca this week.

In September 2023, council asked the province to send an advisor who might help resolve conflicts with Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson.

Ministry staff had four unidentified consultants in mind for the job, but finding one who would take it appeared to be a challenge, based on the partially redacted email records. Fassbender was awarded a sole source contract by minister Anne Kang in early December, deemed the only one of those four qualified for the job.

READ MORE: Kelowna Mountie was 'in a very dark place' when sexting domestic abuse victim

Two things happened after that.

First, ministry staff told Fassbender to get his own business insurance for the job. He needed least $2 million in liability coverage within two weeks of starting and the province wouldn't foot the bill, according to email records.

It appears Fassbender's deadline was nearing, but the question of insurance was never resolved before he was dropped.

Fassbender told iNFOnews.ca he was pursuing an insurance plan to complete his contract and fully intended to proceed ahead of the deadline.

Second, news of his appointment broke in mid-December and that may have triggered a political decision to remove him.

It was clear Premier David Eby was keeping an eye on the advisor's appointment for some reason.

On Nov. 30, 2023, the premier's office asked for an update while ministry staff rushed to approve the contract. By Dec. 4, it was signed with meetings scheduled with city officials the next day, according to email records.

No announcement was made about the appointment, but Kamloops reporters had been asking for updates periodically since the fall. Faced with more questions on Dec. 12, ministry staff noted they had been fairly quiet about similar appointments elsewhere in the province. Some wanted to keep it that way.

"From a (communications) perspective, our preference is to remain low key about this," government spokesperson Shawn Larabee said in an internal email chain.

Another suggested keeping answers simple and sending proactive updates in the future.

"I think just that the work is just getting started and we can push periodic updates to the media vs. them hounding us?" assistant deputy minister Tara Faganello said, though Fassbender's appointment was never announced proactively.

READ MORE: Arrests made during Kelowna rail trail homeless encampment 'spring cleanup'

On Dec. 17, 2023, as Castanet was first to report who got the job as city council's advisor, noting his background both as a local politician in Langley and as an MLA.

When CBC came asking how Fassbender was chosen the next day, ministry staff tried getting the premier involved. Headlines out of Kamloops were pointing out the province chose a former cabinet minister for the job.

That appears to be the first time the premier's office was told they selected a former BC Liberal cabinet minister for the job and waited for his response as more questions were pouring in.

"I'm waiting with bated breath as we have a number of media requests stacking up now," Larabee said, three hours after getting CBC's questions.

"Right, it is a bit of a stir," Michelle Dann of the ministry responded. "So we might not hear for a while."

After 5 p.m., another said the information about Fassbender was factual and readily available online, so she didn't see it as "problematic."

Fassbender checked in with ministry staff less than an hour later to let them know he spoke with CBC himself. He still had upcoming meetings with a councillor and city staff that day and suggested ministry staff speak with him before Christmas holidays.

It doesn't appear he got a response immediately, but staff discussed contacting him by Dec. 20, two days later.

Just how Eby responded to news of Fassbender's appointment isn't clear. Emails from his office were largely redacted. 

READ MORE: City and citizen watchdog group mutually drop Build Kamloops court appeals

Meanwhile, some ministry staff continued to discuss Fassbender's required insurance, confirming for him the $10,000 expense limit he got couldn't be used for liability coverage.

Though he may have passed the province's deadline to have his insurance confirmed, Fassbender said that didn't explain why he was dropped.

"That wasn't the reason as far as I'm concerned because I was in the process of getting the business insurance they asked me to have," he said. "So, that wasn't a problem for me."

What was discussed over the next few days is likely among the hundreds of redacted pages, but ministry staff knew they needed to hire someone else by Dec. 22. Emails with the subject line "Confirming Direction: Termination Letter" circulated.

"The province has decided to take a different direction," read the brief and newly prepared statements for media.

If asked about why, it was "not due to a performance issue," and if asked about timelines, they planned to say more in the new year.

Kamloops CAO David Trawin was also notified, but the heavily redacted email doesn't show whether he was told why Fassbender was ousted.

News broke of Fassbender's departure five days later and two CFJC columns floated the possibility it was due to party politics and Fassbender's past role with the BC Liberals. 

Henry Braun, former mayor of Abbotsford, was appointed by February 2024. It's not clear whether he was among the consultants ministry staff tried to hire earlier that winter. He doesn't appear to have any political affiliations beyond the City of Abbotsford.

Ministry emails suggest Premier Eby was getting regular updates on the hiring of a Kamloops advisor, but Fassbender couldn't say whether he had objections or if they affected the contract.

"Whether or not the premier's office had concerns that a former Liberal MLA and minister was being used, you can read whatever you want into any of that," he said. "And I wasn't about to get into a debate about it. I had agreed and I was going to do it in a totally non-partisan fashion."

He shared his notes with the ministry and was paid for the handful of meetings he held with city officials. He didn't say how much that was, but it was far less than the $30,000 contract total.

Fassbender continues to work as a government consultant.

A ministry spokesperson refused to confirm whether Fassbender was removed due to business insurance or his previous cabinet role with another party.

"We cannot comment on contract matters. We thank Mr. Fassbender for the work he has done. Our focus remains on helping local governments across B.C., including Kamloops, provide good governance to the people they serve," a March 26 statement read.

Dcuments prepared ahead of Fassbender's contract describe Kamloops council's plight as a "very sensitive situation," with council facing "extreme dysfunction," numerous lawsuits and investigations.

Faganello and Dann met with city council and CAO David Trawin to find eight councillors were "working well together," while Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson "could benefit from specialized coaching" as long as it was from someone experienced that "he trusts and respects."

It also noted the mayor had a "populist base of support" which had caused disruption at council meetings.

Braun's report in May 2024 immediately preceded a call for Hamer-Jackson to resign and would later form the basis for future actions taken against him by the rest of council.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2025