REID ALL ABOUT IT – The unbearable rudeness of being at council meetings

An occasional check on the mayoral life of Reid Hamer-Jackson. For this one, we borrow from the title of the old movie, The Unbearable Lightness of Being:

Coun. Kelly Hall, this month’s deputy mayor, continues his absolute inability to respond to Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson with anything but absolute rudeness.

Hamer-Jackson wasn’t in the room for today’s (Jan. 13, 2026) council meeting, joining instead via Zoom. Hall was in the chair, and availed himself of the opportunity to ignore Hamer-Jackson whenever possible.

At one point, the mayor asked Hall if he was going to answer questions posed to him by a citizens’ group on the City’s website. Hall didn’t say yes or no, instead ignoring the question altogether.

Later, during a staff update on capital projects, Hamer-Jackson attempted to ask corporate services director David Hallinan to explain the discrepancy between the $154 million approved via AAP for the performing arts centre and the $211 million it’s now expected to cost.

Instead of waiting for Hallinan to answer, Hall said the mayor could talk to Hallinan privately, and recessed the meeting for 10 minutes.

During the mayor’s report, Hamer-Jackson complained, saying that due to the sanctions against him he requires Hall’s permission to talk to staff and that Hall wasn’t answering his emails, calling it “very disturbing.” Hall responded that he doesn’t answer emails that are “denigrating” or “disrespectful.”

When Hamer-Jackson attempted to respond, Hall adjourned the meeting as Hamer-Jackson’s voice suddenly became garbled over the Zoom connection.