Kamloops, B.C., mayor faces another investigation after recording phone call with city staffer

The mayor of Kamloops is being investigated for possibly breaking a workplace rule against recording private conversations with city staff.

The decision to investigate stems from a phone call that Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson had with the city's chief administrative officer, David Trawin, while the mayor was driving in March. Hamer-Jackson's wife was in the car and recorded the phone conversation. 

Kamloops' eight city councillors voted in favour of the investigation during a closed-door meeting that excluded the mayor on Sept. 26.

Hamer-Jackson — whose first 10 months in politics have been marked by disputes with councillors, including a previous investigation and his attempt to sue a councillor for defamation — says he's shocked.

"I'm kind of floored with it. I'm a little bit confused. Investigating each other again," Hamer-Jackson said.

The mayor insists the recording was only for note-taking purposes. According to a statement from the city, the conversation was recorded without Trawin's consent.

"And I don't know what's the problem with that when my poor wife, who had no malicious intent — you know, every time I get a phone call, am I supposed to kick the person out?"

'Safety of employees is paramount'

Speaking on behalf of all eight councillors, Coun. Kelly Hall says the decision to investigate the mayor is an attempt to uphold the city's workplace human resources policies. 

He said councillors have a legal duty to provide a safe workplace for all employees, free of bullying and harassment.

Hall says council wants to work with the mayor.

"We are trying to bring him into the fold, work with him, because we know that's important. The nine of us together are stronger than the eight," he said.

Hall says the investigation will look into whether the mayor has recorded any other phone calls.

"The safety of employees is paramount for all of us," he said.

Under Canadian law, phone calls can be recorded, as long as one person in the conversation is aware of it.

But a directive from the city's human resources department sent out in May states elected officials including the mayor are not supposed to be recording conversations when they're not in city hall.

Call was about irrigation system, mayor says

The mayor says the "real story" should be about what was said during the phone call, which he says was on the topic of the Noble Creek Irrigation System (NCIS) — the main water source for about 40 farmers in the Westsyde area of Kamloops — which is facing structural problems.

Hamer-Jackson says during the recorded phone call, Trawin told him to tell the farmers who were using the irrigation system that they were "good until the end of the year," after which the city would be working on solutions.

In May, two months after the phone call, the engineering department — which falls under Trawin's supervision — told council that parts of the NCIS were so eroded that it would need to be decommissioned. The farmers were previously told they would be allowed to use the system until at least 2028. 

The mayor is still hoping to keep the irrigation system open longer.

He's been discussing options with B.C.'s ministers of agriculture, forestry and emergency management, and trying to solicit their help.

On Sept. 5, city council voted to eventually close the irrigation system, but to try to keep it in operation until the end of 2024. The only person to vote against the closure was the mayor.

Trawin was not available for comment.