A petition to disqualify Kamloops Coun. Mike O’Reilly from office over allegations of conflicting interests has been dismissed by a Supreme Court of British Columbia judge.

The 10 petitioners, led by former Coun. Denis Walsh, alleged that O’Reilly was in a conflict of interest related to his involvement in council’s approval of the $140-million arena multiplex project in Dufferin.

Petitioners sought to disqualify O’Reilly for the remainder of council’s term, to order the city to void its chosen arena multiplex location and to conduct a new process to determine the arena multiplex location.

The project, at 2070 Hillside Drive, is a 3.9-kilometre drive from the Iron Mask Industrial Park, a development currently underway by Comet Industries, of which O’Reilly is the CEO and President. He also owns shares of the company.

In his decision, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Ball pointed to several issues with the petition, including a lack of evidence on behalf of the petitioners and a complaint that came too late.

In O’Reilly’s defence, as noted in Ball’s decision, lawyers pointed to the fact that Comet’s share prices had not changed and that there was “little variation and no irregularities” after the arena multiplex location was announced. Ball also noted that Comet purchased the property about 50 years ago, and that there were 3,387 parcels of land within 3.9 km of the new arena multiplex site.

Under the Community Charter, a petitioner has 45 days to seek disqualification of someone after they become aware of the basis for that disqualification.

One petitioner, Patrick Snell, was present at the July 30, 2024, council meeting, wherein the location of the arena multiplex was discussed.

Ball pointed to that meeting’s minutes, which mention Snell and his concern over the administration of the alternative approval process (AAP) for the bylaw that would ultimately approve the arena multiplex.

He concluded Snell was “without doubt” aware of the project’s location by that time, and that the complaint did not come within 45 days of that reveal.

Ball also pointed to issues with the evidence presented by the petitioners.

“I would note that even if the limitation periods had not expired, I would not be able to conclude that the petitioners had established a conflict of interest or established the basis on which the arena bylaw ought to be set aside,” Ball wrote.

He pointed to affidavits “replete with statements on information and belief,” that did not contain any sources of the information therein.

Ball said the evidence “suffers from substantive as well as formal deficiencies” and that there were “unsubstantiated allegations based on belief and conjecture.”

In his judgment, Ball also awarded court costs to O’Reilly and the City of Kamloops, ordering the petitioners to pay.