More drama at Kamloops City Hall Tuesday, as Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson was temporarily stripped of his duties as the chair of the meeting.

Hamer-Jackson was forced out as the chair of the open session after being challenged by Councillor Stephen Karpuk while delivering his Mayor’s Report toward the end of the meeting for trying to bring up issues contained in the Integrity Group report.

That report remains privileged information that council is not allowed to disclose publicly.

“Early into my term, the CAO sent an email out to councillors with accusations of me threatening to fire him. After I confronted him, he admitted ‘you did not threaten me,'” Hamer-Jackson said Tuesday.

“Mr. Mayor, that is confidential information,” Deputy CAO Byron McCorkell responded.

“It’s not,” Hamer-Jackson quipped back.

“Mr. Mayor, the information you are referring to is protected, private information and you are not to speak about it in an open forum,” Deputy Corporate Officer Amanda Passmore said.

“Actually, point of order, this was FOI-able, and Mr. Trawin changes the disclosure on the end our emails that this is all,” Hamer-Jackson said, before he was cutoff by Passmore who again told the Mayor that “personal information is protected under legislation.”

“Okay, I’m going to continue…As mayor, I am the CEO of the corporation,” Hamer-Jackson said. “Ultimately, I am responsible for the corporation and the CAO reports to me and council but yet according to Mr. Braun’s report, we are not to question the legitimate power and authority of the CAO.”

“But if that CAO makes a very damaging claim that he later…” the Mayor added before he was cut off by Kapruk who raised a Point of Order.

“I would like to challenge the Chair. I’d like to challenge the Chair at this point…whether the Chair is sustained I would like a vote on that please,” interjected Karpuk.

Hamer-Jackson then tried to call his own Point of Order, only to have Karpuk push back.

“It is a vote. You do not get a vote. This is under the Community Charter which you just told us to follow. So we’re following that one right now!” snapped Karpuk.

Karpuk was able to call for the vote to remove Hamer-Jackson as chair of the meeting under a section of the Community Charter which allows for a council vote if the chair of the meeting can’t maintain order.

According to the Community Charter, Section 132:

Authority of presiding member

132  (1) The mayor or the member presiding at a council meeting must preserve order and decide points of order that may arise, subject to an appeal under this section.

(2) On an appeal by a council member from a decision of the presiding member under subsection (1), the question as to whether the chair is to be sustained must be immediately put by the presiding member and decided without debate.

“Chair is removed. I’d like to have the Deputy Mayor step in and carry on please,” said Karpuk after council voted 8-1 to remove Hamer-Jackson as the chair of the Tuesday open session.

“Is that real?” asked Hamer-Jackson after the vote.

“Mr. Mayor, this is in accordance with legislation and is proper,” Passmore replied.

Deputy Mayor Kelly Hall took over as chair for the rest of the meeting, which Hamer-Jackson remained part of to the end.

“It is the ability of a member of this group here in this room to challenge the chair. And at that point the chair, does not get a vote,” Karpuk later said of the rationale to call for the vote. “It is a very important factor that was raised as a tool that we have, it’s not something we take lightly.”

“I’m not really happy that I had to do it. But it is something that is there for simple civil governance.”

It is expected Hamer-Jackson will resume his role as chair of the next open council meeting.

As Karpuk was explaining his decision during his Councillor Report, a member of the public took control of the public microphone and began to berate council on the move.

This prompted everyone on council, except for Hamer-Jackson, to clear the council chambers while the member of the public was escorted out.

A second person was also escorted out by Community Services Officers before councillors returned and the meeting resumed.