Kamloops City Council has unanimously approved three readings to a new Code of Conduct bylaw.
Corporate Officer Maria Mazzotta says the new 19-page bylaw includes sanctions that could be used to deal with issues of misconduct, unlike the existing Code of Conduct Policy – put in place by the previous council in June 2022 – which did not.
“Many other municipalities across the province have codes of conduct that have what are known as sanctions, what are more nicely known as remedies built into them,” Mazzotta said. “When there are consequences however, it is also absolutely critical that there be a clear and fair process leading to the imposition of any consequence.”
Those sanctions range from a letter of reprimand all the way to removal from boards and committees, or reporting matters to law enforcement, if needed.
Mazzotta noted this new bylaw outlines expectations for the behaviour of councillors and committee members, a process to investigate complaints, and consequences if the code of conduct isn’t followed.
This new Code of Conduct Bylaw is expected to be adopted at the May 2 council meeting, at which point the old Code of Conduct Policy will be rescinded.
Under the Community Charter, city council had until May 9 to decide whether or not it was going to review its current code of conduct.
“If the council decides not to adopt or review a code of conduct, the reasoning behind the decision must be made publicly available and the council must reconsider that decision before January 1 of the year of the next general local election (i.e. by the end of 2025),” Mazzotta added in a staff report.
The new Code of Conduct Bylaw comes amid friction at Kamloops City Hall where councillors have raised issues with Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson’s perceived lack of teamwork, as well as his potential conflicts of interest.
It also comes as a select committee is reviewing the structure and terms of reference of the City’s standing committees, which were paused, after the Mayor attempted to put members of the public – including his friends and election supporters – onto some standing committees, a move he later rescinded.
Hamer-Jackson has also repeatedly asked councillors – who accused him of crossing personal and professional boundaries as well as belittling and disrespecting them – to explain those allegations.
“[The new bylaw also] involves things like due notice, so if anybody has allegations made against them, that person has the right to know what those allegations are, and how those allegations are going to be dealt with and potential outcomes to that process,” Mazzotta added Tuesday.
“That said, throughout the process, confidentiality is absolutely critical, you’ll see that built into this bylaw as well.”
Mazzotta also noted it will be up to the nine elected politicians to work through the issues that have plagued City Council over the past six months.
“Humanity is also our greatest strength. It’s not going to be this code of conduct bylaw that solves the issues that this council has faced to date,” she said.
“It’s going to be the humanity of each of you that you bring to your conduct in accordance with that bylaw, and just by virtue of the best aspects of being human.”
You can find the new Code of Conduct Bylaw as well as the existing Code of Conduct Policy here.