REID ALL ABOUT IT – Mayor reaches detente with AG over leaked document

An occasional look at the mayoral life of Reid Hamer-Jackson:

The mayor was in B.C. Supreme Court today (Nov. 10, 2025), representing himself as he faced off against lawyers for the Attorney-General over a confidential document.

The document in question was a report of an investigation into his conduct with respect to various staff members. Known as the Honcharuk report, after Terry Honcharuk of the Integrity Group, it has never been released publicly but a couple of local media obtained copies about two years ago.

Then, in April 2024, Mayor Hamer-Jackson received a copy in his mailbox, in an envelope postmarked Tofino. He made copies for several local media. That resulted in a demand that he return his copy, and the Attorney-General took him to court when he was reluctant to give it back.

He says he eventually did send his copy to the Attorney-General, and the matter seems to have been settled today. He said he agreed that the copy he sent to the AG could be destroyed, that he would provide an updated list of everyone to whom he provided copies, and that if he receives any further copies he will send them directly to the Attorney General.

He also said the two parties agreed to pay their own court costs. Hamer-Jackson said he hasn’t yet added up what the case has cost him. But he says he still strongly believes the Honcharuk report should be officially released to the public, and that further efforts should be made to identify the original leaker.

“We still don’t know the root cause of the problem,” he said after his court appearance.

….. On another matter, the mayor says he understands why people are concerned about the Cowichan land claims ruling in B.C. Supreme Court that dealt with aboriginal title versus private property rights. That’s been followed by public discussion of a 10-year-old lawsuit brought by the Skeetchestn and Secwe̓pemc  bands on a similar issue covering Kamloops and Sun Peaks. He says he’s already broached the matter with some of the Secwe̓pemc band councillors in hopes of working towards clarity for local residents.