BUILD KAMLOOPS – Ombudsperson asked to overturn approval process
Front page of Ministry of Municipal Affairs’ guide to using AAPs.
‘If the Ombudsperson finds the City has not fairly complied with regulations, the AAP could be cancelled or invalidated’
A group calling itself a “coalition of residents” is appealing to the BC Ombudsperson to overturn the alternative approval process the City is using for a pair of major civic infrastructure projects.
The AAP requires electors who oppose borrowing for the Build Kamloops projects — a new performing arts centre and a sportsplex totalling $275 million — to return petition-style forms signifying their opposition before a Sept. 13 deadline.
If 8,713 forms are returned, the borrowing bylaws must be put to a referendum. Those who don’t sign and return the forms are considered to be in favour of the projects and the borrowing.
But the AAP itself has become the object of controversy. In a news release today (Sept. 6, 2024), with resident Marshall Krueger given as the contact, the “coalition” says it approached the Ombudsperson “after learning that the provincial government does not recommend an AAP for controversial issues requiring ‘significant’ taxpayer contributions or that (have) a ‘significant’ impact on the community.”
According to the coalition of residents, if the Ombudsperson finds that the City hasn’t fairly complied with regulations, it may recommend that the Ministry of Municipal Affairs cancel the AAP or, if the voting deadline has passed, render the results invalid.
The news release says that when the group contacted the Ombudsperson, it was advised to ask the City to strike down the AAP bylaws, prompting the “Kamloops AAP Vote coalition” to send letters to the City on Aug. 23 and 28.
“The City refused to respond by the deadline. With this formality now over, the Ombudsperson investigation can proceed.”
Public information and notification form the basis of the coalition’s objections. It points out that the AAP is being held during summer when “many voters are distracted or unaware of the process, especially since there has been no dedicated City mailout about the AAP and no mention of the AAP on other City mailouts for the first 35 days of the 45-day voting period. Notification of the AAP is buried at the bottom of the City’s main web page.”
The news release goes on to say councillors have ignored appeals by Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson and have refused to allow questions about the AAP or Build Kamloops at public council or committee meetings.
“Opponents are concerned that the City has focused on promoting the projects instead of compiling and sharing information taxpayers need in order to make an informed decision.” The release further states no business plan has been developed for either the performing arts centre or sportsplex, and no estimates of operating, staffing or utility costs have been made public.
“There is widespread confusion due to the City’s continued seemingly clumsy explanations of the expected tax impact. Media reports of the City’s public statements seem to suggest that the 1% tax increase to cover the $275 million loan would average only $25 per year per residence for five years, when in fact the average increase would be at least $125 per year in perpetuity.
“Opponents are also concerned that the AAP is not a secret, scrutineered ballot as democracy requires, and that the City’s AAP ballots contain vague or misleading content, are not immediately accessible on the City’s main web page and require a complicated voting process.”
ArmchairMayor.ca 
The Mayor of Merritt has recently admonished BC Housing for once again making zero efforts to consult the communities where they intend to drop in drug addict housing. BC Housing refused to attend a community meeting to answer questions, due to what they said was a danger of violence. The implication being that the community of Merritt are filled with violent citizens. The Mayor was outraged. And with good reason.
Notice how a similar narrative is being spun by the council of Kamloops. If you call opposition and dissenting voices “violence”, and when you consider opposing views as setting up a dangerous environment that cannot be allowed because of a need to create safe spaces for city employees, you can effectively muzzle any opposing or critical voices. That is your get out of jail free card.
BC Housing did that to the citizens of Merritt. Kamloops council does that to the citizens of Kamloops.
I bring it up to point out the stark differences between many other municipalities that fight to preserve the safety of their communities, and this council that rolls over and refuses to hold neither BC Housing or service providers accountable. While council protests here and there, the end result is always that the drug addict housing gets built, and with it, those neighbourhoods are plunged into chaos. Communities across BC are fighting back. Kamloops council is not.
A similar tactic is used for the AAP, AKA the Used Car Salesman approach to civic democracy. Kamloops council refuses to let the community ask questions to council. It refuses to let citizens point out falsehoods stated in council meetings by highly paid administrators, in the name of creating “safe spaces”.
Mike O’Reilly talks about the AAP at a council meeting, then says you can’t talk about it.
In Kamloops, we have something closer to a banana republic type of democratic processes, where democracy is mostly just window dressings while the levers of power are being manipulated by individuals who have very little interest in notions of fairness, democracy, openness and accountability.
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Any respect due to the positions of those city manipulators of this AAP has been removed by themselves by their actions, pirates comes to mind.
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It’s too bad Build Kamloops and the city councillors have so little faith in the viability of the projects that they feel the need to manipulate the AAP process.
I’m very tired of seeing the comment from City Hall that the cost to taxpayers will only be $25/year for 5 years.
When the mayor called for the AAP to be cancelled, Build Kamloops chair Coun. O’Reilly accused him of being “disingenuous.” I think O’Reilly and Build Kamloops need to look in the mirror and see who’s really being “disingenuous.”
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Democracy in action. I hope they point out the erroneous methodology and figures as that surely must invalidate this entire process.
Council doesn’t seem capable of doing simple maths.
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