by Kamloops Critic | Feb 22, 2026 | Kamloops City Council, Municipal Governance, Transparency & Accountability
The December 13 Hypothetical That Wasn’t So Hypothetical During the December 13, 2022 regular Council meeting’s Public Inquiries section, there were a couple inquiries about closed meetings. At one point, an unidentified voice — not clearly captured on...
by Kamloops Critic | Feb 20, 2026 | Kamloops Politics, Legal Matters
A simple question about access to a restricted area of Kamloops City Hall has turned into a second defamation lawsuit between Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson and Councillor Katie Neustaeter. At the centre of the case is one basic issue: When does “observing” become “spying”?...
by Kamloops Critic | Feb 7, 2026 | Kamloops Politics, Reid Hamer-Jackson
A personal reflection on resilience, change, and why underdogs still matter My attention to municipal politics didn’t begin with personalities or insider knowledge. It began during the Alternative Approval Process for the performing arts centre and the arena...
by Kamloops Critic | Feb 6, 2026 | City Council, Ethics & Transparency, Local Government Accountability
After three emails and nearly three months, only the Mayor responded. When I published Why the O’Reilly Case Matters in Kamloops, I suggested the case was about more than one councillor or one complaint. It was about whether City Council understands what ethical...
by Kamloops Critic | Feb 3, 2026 | Kamloops Politics, Katie Neustaeter, Reid Hamer-Jackson
In the days following the dismissal of Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson’s defamation lawsuit, Councillor Katie Neustaeter has characterized the court’s decision as vindication. That word is doing far more work than the judgment itself supports. The court didn’t declare...
by Kamloops Critic | Feb 2, 2026 | Kamloops Politics, Katie Neustaeter, Reid Hamer-Jackson
Local coverage of Hamer-Jackson v. Neustaeter has settled into a comfortable, low-effort storyline: Free speech wins. Case dismissed. Move along. It’s tidy. It’s simple. It’s also incomplete in a way that meaningfully misleads readers. Justice J. Hughes did not...
by Kamloops Critic | Jan 30, 2026 | City Hall, Kelly Hall, Local Government Accountability
After publishing evidence showing that the City of Kamloops’ January 13, 2026 Regular Council Meeting minutes omit a completed vote and conceal multiple procedural breakdowns visible in the City’s own meeting video, I wrote to the Corporate Officer requesting that...
by Kamloops Critic | Jan 27, 2026 | City Council, City Hall
Municipal council minutes are supposed to be the official historical record of what occurred during a public meeting. They are relied upon by residents, journalists, lawyers, and courts as evidence of how decisions were reached. But a review of the City of Kamloops’...
by Kamloops Critic | Jan 24, 2026 | Budget 2026, Build Kamloops, City Hall
At a time when Kamloops residents are bracing for significant tax increases, job insecurity, and the rising cost of simply staying afloat, the City appears to have quietly done what it does best: expand management — without bothering to tell anyone. Buried inside the...
by Kamloops Critic | Jan 21, 2026 | City Council, City of Kamloops, Code of Conduct, Reid Hamer-Jackson
Guest commentary for KamloopsCritic.ca When Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson issued a public letter on January 14, 2026 rejecting Council’s demand that he sign an apology over the cancelled March 2024 State of the City slideshow, most coverage treated it as another chapter in...
