City apologizes after porn shown during Kamloops council meeting

Kamloops city council and city staff have apologized after a pornographic video was shown in council chambers on Tuesday.

It happened during the public inquiries portion of the city's regular council meeting, which allows members of the public to participate in discussions in person or remotely via video.

One of the online participants shared a graphic video clip, prompting the meeting to end early.

"We deeply regret the inappropriate behaviour that occurred and distress it may have caused," the city said in a statement, referring to the incident as a "Zoom-bombing."

For Coun. Bill Sarai, it's the final straw in the city's current public participation process, which he says has been plagued by disruptions for months.

Originally meant to let the public ask questions or comment on items on the night's council agenda, the inquiries portion of the meetings have increasingly become "attacks on our staff and our council," he said.

"It's really swayed far, far away from what it's meant to be," he said, describing "yelling, screaming" and other disruptions in the council chambers, taking up "two hours" of time answering "frivolous questions" and accusations of wrong-doing against city leaders.

Sarai says council and city staff are available to answer questions through email or in-person meetings, and he believes that's a more appropriate use of time rather than bogging down council meetings.

He says he's looking at a process for eliminating the public inquiries portion of the meetings.

In the meantime, the City of Kamloops says it is reviewing its screening processes for the meetings and that a recording of the meeting has been sent to RCMP for review.

CBC News has reached out to RCMP to determine if it is investigating.