Sean Brady

Further legal trouble has emerged for Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson, with the province filing suit at the end of January to force him to destroy or return all copies of a report concerning his behavior.

B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court on Jan. 30, seeking a court order that would force the mayor to return or destroy all copies of a report in his possession and provide the names of everyone to whom he distributed the report.

Because the report contains personal information, the attorney general contends the mayor cannot lawfully possess it, having received it anonymously in his mailbox from an unknown sender in Tofino in 2024.

Hamer-Jackson told media how he had received the report, distributed copies of the report to media and also said he would use it to “clear his name,” according to the petition.

Known as the Honcharuk report, the 100-page document details workplace complaints made about the mayor’s conduct in late 2022 and early 2023, just months after he took office. The complaints were investigated in February and May of 2023 by an independent investigator and then compiled into a report by Terry Honcharuk of the Integrity Group.

According to the petition, information within the report includes the names of everyone interviewed, including the complainants and witnesses, details of personal interactions and experiences, personal views of those involved and employment histories of various people.

The report was first provided to the city’s legal counsel in June 2023 and was shortly thereafter provided to city council for consideration during a closed council meeting. Council’s electronic copies of the report had security measures in place that prevented it from being saved, shared or printed.

Hamer-Jackson did not receive a copy of the report as the city considered him in conflict of interest, “among other reasons,” according to the petition.

Council later imposed a restriction on the mayor, prohibiting him from one-on-one communication with certain city staff members as a result of his violations of the city’s code of conduct, as detailed in the Honcharuk report.

After the mayor’s announcement that he had the report, the city repeatedly demanded its return or destruction, sending letters to the mayor in early April.

“To date, the Mayor has not returned the report to the city nor confirmed his destruction of the report in his possession,” the petition reads.

Later, in November 2024, Sharma also entered a request to the mayor to return or destroy the report.

In the petition, the province argues that the city’s collection of personal information was lawful, but the mayor’s possession of the report is not.

Under B.C.’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), an officer of a public body, which includes the mayor, can only collect, use or disclose personal information in specific ways, and Hamer-Jackson’s purpose of “clearing his name,” is not an authorized use under the act.

The province also pointed to section 117 of the Community Charter, which requires the mayor to keep, in confidence, any record held by the municipality and any information considered in a closed council meeting.

“If the Mayor continues to use the report, he does so contrary to s. 117 of the Community Charter,” the petition reads.

Sharma is also seeking costs for taking Hamer-Jackson to court over the matter.

Hamer-Jackson has 21 days to respond to the petition.

Shortly before Chronicle press time and after news of the petition, the mayor indicated to media his intention to hand over the report, but had not yet done so.