Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson leaves a council meeting after initially resisting pressure from city staff to get legal advice over a conflict of interest on Nov. 5, 2024.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

The mayor of Kamloops refused to say he had a conflict of interest with the developer he's taking to court, but he still left Tuesday's council meeting without returning for the rest of the afternoon.

Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson initially argued with city staff over whether his lawsuit with a local developer precluded his attendance, but he wouldn't stay long enough to hear exactly why it wasn't allowed.

It was the City's corporate officer Maria Mazzotta who was unwilling to cave to Hamer-Jackson's assertions that his lawsuit had no bearing on the matter and it's because her job is to ensure council follows the rules.

"My job is to protect the corporation," she said, responding to the mayor's attempts to challenge her warnings.

The corporate officer's job is to ensure the local government follows provincial legislation including the elected officials. The province sets out a list of responsibilities they have to oversee the administration of a local government, like ensuring meetings and bylaws are both accurate and kept safe.

Through the Community Charter, the province requires each council to appoint both a corporate and a financial officer at minimum.

Mazzotta is at every council meeting, or someone from her department, where she'll advise elected officials on procedures set out by the province or through the city's own bylaws. She'll also ensure proposals from councillors follow the law or that they themselves do.

That's what she did when she asserted not only that Hamer-Jackson might have a conflict with a shelter proposal but that it would be illegal for him to stay in the room.

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She tried to explain why before Hamer-Jackson left the room, but he didn't appear to listen.

Speaking with iNFOnews.ca during a break in the Nov. 5 council meeting, she said Hamer-Jackson can't simply decide it's not a conflict.

Staff don't typically go out of their way to tell council members of conflicts of interest and remove them from meetings, nor are council members typically required to get legal advice. They can check with a lawyer if they need an opinion, but it's on each individual to decide.

But, there is another rule that comes into effect once they do declare a conflict. When that happens, an elected official can only change that declaration after getting legal advice. They then must explain how their situation has changed or why it's no longer an issue.

It was just over a month ago when Hamer-Jackson stepped away from a rezoning discussion related to a proposed daycare. Developer Joshua Knaak's company, Arpa Investments, is involved with the project, but he is also the defendant in a defamation lawsuit Hamer-Jackson filed in the summer. Hamer-Jackson first tried to have the vote delayed because of his ongoing lawsuit, but recused for the same reason when he got no support from council.

At the late September meeting, the daycare project was unanimously rezoned and Hamer-Jackson returned to the meeting just two minutes later.

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On Nov. 6, Hamer-Jackson said he "decided" a matter involving one of Knaak's companies isn't a conflict anymore, but made no mention of getting legal advice.

"I'm representing myself, OK? That is legal," he said as councillors left the room in order to give him time to contact a lawyer. He stayed in his seat and refused to change his mind, but not without getting challenged by Mazzotta.

"No it's not," she said. "You're not a lawyer, you don't have legal advice."

Arpa Investments is planning to redevelop a Tranquille Road property, which was an RV dealership until recently. While the company plans the project, it's going to lease the property to BC Housing as an emergency shelter for the next 20 months, provided it gets a permit approved by council.

The defamation lawsuit the Hamer-Jackson filed against Knaak brought to light accusations that the mayor groped Knaak's wife at a local bar. Hamer-Jackson said the accusation was untrue and hurt his reputation, though it was not a widely known claim until the mayor filed his lawsuit. It's still ongoing in BC Supreme Court.

"When Mr. Knaak accused me of these things, yes I'm going to challenge it, and I felt this council would stand behind me and postpone (the daycare). I think maybe that's what we should do today," he said.

Put simply, it was Hamer-Jackson's own action that put him into a conflict with Knaak. Now, regardless of whether a lawyer would have seen the daycare or the shelter matters conflicts of interest, he placed himself in the position where he needs to get legal advice before he can vote on anything related to Knaak's properties.

The scene in council chambers lasted for around five minutes as Hamer-Jackson kept resisting suggestions that he leave and contact a lawyer.

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He claimed councillor Katie Neustaeter, a defendant in a separate defamation suit, was somehow connected to the Knaak issue, then he erroneously accused her of being involved with the shelter operator ASK Wellness. She works for another non-profit, United Way.

He also raised an entirely unrelated issue with Mazzotta by asking for the copy of a legal opinion written about him in December 2022. She pointed out that he had two opportunities to see it, but he left the room at least once.

"Your Worship, you're being told you're in a conflict of interest and all these people are waiting to speak," Neustaeter said as four men stood at the podium to voice concerns over the proposed shelter.

That's when he gave up and started to leave council chambers. He left still without declaring a conflict of interest with Knaak or the shelter property and didn't return.

Asked over text message to explain why Mazzotta continued to assert he had a conflict, he said to "ask her" then said she was "off side."

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