The latest code of conduct investigation into Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson has found he bullied, intimidated and levelled abusive communication at city staff, and also breached his privacy obligations while doing so.

The complaint, filed by Coun. Dale Bass, concerns emails sent to city staff and council from the mayor in April and May 2025. Bass described emails sent “at all times of the day or night, often one after another,” that contained “personal details that never should have been included in work emails.”

The contents of the emails were not included in the report, but the mayor was made aware of what was at issue in December 2025.

The investigation was conducted by Reece Harding of Young Anderson, a Vancouver-based law firm that has handled a number of code of conduct complaints for the city. Last year, Hamer-Jackson accused Harding of being biased against him. When Harding later sought more information on that accusation, he said he received nothing further from the mayor.

Similarly, as noted by Harding in his report, Hamer-Jackson did not participate in this investigation.

Harding found three major issues in investigating the complaint, including the dissemination of personal information about a city staffer and the bullying of two city staffers on multiple occasions. The content, Harding said, was “unwelcome and objectionable” and in one instance included “verbal aggression and insults, derogatory comments and questioning [of] their professional competence,” all of which he determined contravened the code of conduct.

The city staffers subjected to the abuse were not named in the redacted version of the report published by the city in April.

“I agree with [the city staff member] that it would be intimidating for a staff member to receive several successive communications from a person, like the mayor, in a position of power at the city,” Harding wrote, also noting that some of the mayor’s communications may have come across as legal threats against staff.

Some of the mayor’s comments could also be characterized as “threatening or intimidating,” Harding said.

“In my opinion, no Mayor should treat staff in this manner and the Mayor owes these staff an unqualified apology,” the report concludes.

The report also includes a number of recommendations to council, including that they formally censure the mayor and publish a redacted copy of the report, that he receive a letter of reprimand from council, that he is asked to issue three letters of apology to the affected city staffers and that, if he does not do so, that his pay is further reduced.

At a closed council meeting held on March 24, council adopted the recommendations and called upon the mayor to issue the apology letters. If he fails to do so, his salary will be reduced by five percent for each of the three letters not sent. Additionally, if he does not complete mandatory training on his obligations under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, he will face another five percent reduction, for a total of 20 percent salary reduction for this investigation.

Hamer-Jackson has refused to apologize or undertake training when given the opportunity to avoid the punitive measures imposed by council. He has faced multiple salary cuts and other measures, such as being removed as a city spokesperson.

Council unanimously adopted the code of conduct in May 2023. Since then, seven complaints have been substantiated, including five against Hamer-Jackson and two against Coun. Bill Sarai. Another 11 have been dismissed and 10 have been withdrawn.

The investigation of the latest complaint came at a cost of $52,360.63 to the city.