LETTER – Some suggestions for concerned employees of the City
(Image: Mel Rothenburger.)
MESSAGE FROM MAYOR REID HAMER-JACKSON
Before I begin, I’d like to make it very clear that I am not accusing anyone of anything.
I have been approached by some who are conflicted about tasks they had to perform in their positions within the City of Kamloops. They feel that they are working in a toxic environment and/ or being involved in unethical behaviour which, “in their opinons”, shouldn’t be happening.
BC’s Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) provides a safe, legally protected way for current and former BC Public sector employees to report serious or systematic issues of wrongdoing and prohibits people from retaliating against employees who speak up about potential wrongdoing in the public sector.
Again, I want to be clear, I’m not accusing anyone of anything.
Therefore, my suggestions are:
If you are a union member and feel that you have been pressured into taking steps which make you feel uncomfortable or that you feel may be unethical, please take your concerns to your union office.
If you are a non-union employee in the same circumstances, please take your concerns to WorkSafeBC.
If you are in a position of trust and you feel you may have breached your fiduciary duty, have contributed to bullying, harassing or any unethical behaviour then you may want to consider resignation, or retirement.
To be clear, I have personally been asked to resign and I would never ask anyone to resign or retire without facts, proof or evidence.
We have many great employees who are proud of their workplace. My goal is to return that pride to EVERY employee and position with the City of Kamloops.
Respectfully,
Mayor Hamer-Jackson.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Let get this straight. RHJ who has been investigated and found to have bullied or demeaned three employees and unlawfully suspended acting chief administrative officer Byron McCorkell has suddenly become a champion for employees’ wellbeing. And let’s not get into what RHJ did to our CAO.
Anything to get into the press – shame.
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Let’s get things very very straight Bob. RHJ has ruffled a few City’s feathers and a plot was allowed to unfold to vaguely claim/ accuse him for some sort of “bullying and demeaning” towards some overly sensitive City Hall’s employees. That claim/accusation had/has really no merit whatsoever. Then he did the very very right thing and fired McCorkell. The wrongest thing to do was to reinstate him. Just don’t forget Bob, that every civic issue you had a “beef” with in the last quarter century in Kamloops was either decided or had input from non-other-than the McCorkell.
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I know a few people who worked for the City for various lengths of time. None of them paint a pretty picture of what is going on behind the facade of official press communiques.
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Pierre, cute, sounds little like blaming the victims. Polite phrasing, “RHJ has ruffled a few City’s feathers…”, “…vaguely claim/ accuse him for some sort of “bullying and demeaning” towards some overly sensitive City Hall’s employees.”
Let’s get the facts straight.
The charges brought against RHJ were the results of a third-party investigation conducted by the Integrity Group. The Integrity Group report concluded that RHJ’s conduct “…on 12 occasions between November 2022 and April 2023 was in violation of the city’s council policy with regards to three different city employees.”
The Council order found RHJ “…”unable to act” on “personnel matter” for seven staffers, dubbed the “protected employees.”
Let’s face it, when it comes to human resources, RHJ is a train wreck.
As for RHJ’s letter, just a cheap way to get a little free press.
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What does he know that Joe & Jane Citizen don’t know?
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Mayor Hamer-Jackson will prevail. An outsider attempting to shake up the establishment and bring the city back to the people. He’s already shone a light on the dysfunction and quagmire down at city hall. The hypocrisy and double standards.
Don’t stop fighting for the people of this community. Do what’s right, not what’s popular with the clique. Your service is highly appreciated. If not for the constant frustration of the Mayor’s vision, Kamloops could have had one of the best leaders in quite some time. Imagine what we could have accomplished already.
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