British Columbia

Motion to dismiss Kamloops' mayor's defamation suit against councillor adjourned until September

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has adjourned a hearing on a defamation suit filed by Kamloops, B.C., Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson against one of the city's councillors until September.

Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson's defamation suit against Katie Neustaeter has been in the courts for 2 years

A side-by-side photograph showing a Kamloops mayor on one side and a Kamloops councillor on the other.
Kamloops Mayor Hamer-Jackson, left, has brought a civil suit against Coun. Katie Neustaeter over alleged libel and defamation. The case has been adjourned until September. (Jenifer Norwell and Marcella Bernardo/CBC News)

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has adjourned a hearing on a defamation suit filed by Kamloops, B.C., Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson, against one of the city's councillors until September.

Coun. Katie Neustaeter has been seeking to dismiss the defamation lawsuit filed against her by the mayor in June 2023 after she made a public statement on behalf of council accusing him of crossing personal and professional boundaries.

Hamer-Jackson claims that led some people to wrongly believe he may have sexually harassed her. His claims haven't been proven in court.

On Monday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jacqueline Hughes granted a last-minute request from Hamer-Jackson to adjourn a hearing on Neustaeter's dismissal application until Sept. 22.

WATCH | Hamer-Jackson given until September in defamation case: 

Kamloops mayor given more time to prepare for defamation lawsuit

8 hours ago
Duration 1:28
The mayor of Kamloops has been given extra time to prepare for a defamation lawsuit he filed against a city councillor more than two years ago. As we hear from our Marcella Bernardo, a hearing to determine if the case should go ahead will likely be heard in September.

It came seven months after the mayor, who was representing himself in the case, was advised to hire a lawyer. The lawyer that he hired was only retained late last week and sought the adjournment in court.

Hughes granted Hamer-Jackson's lawyer's request, but ordered the mayor to cover the costs linked to the hearing, which was set to last five days.

"I'm really grateful that, this time, the mayor will face some of the consequences of his own actions and, certainly, this is when it will be expensive for him," Neustaeter said outside court after the adjournment.

"I want justice to happen. I want it to be fair and I want it to be right," the councillor added. "And if that means waiting a little bit longer, then that's what we'll do."

Coun. Katie Neustaeter and Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson sitting side by side during a city hall meeting.
Coun. Katie Neustaeter has been sparring with Hamer-Jackson — in public and in court — since the spring of 2023. (City of Kamloops )

Hamer-Jackson and his lawyer refused to comment outside court when approached by CBC News.

Neustaeter has been sparring with Hamer-Jackson — in public and in court — since the spring of 2023.

The councillor wants the defamation lawsuit tossed out under provincial legislation, which rids the courts of actions considered a drain on time and money. 

If lawyers for Neustaeter convince the judge that the mayor's case against her is frivolous, it could be dismissed, and he could be forced to cover her legal costs.

That impacts taxpayers in Kamloops because they're currently covering Neustaeter's legal fees.

A woman and a man smile outside a courthouse on a cloudy day.
Coun. Katie Neustaeter and her lawyer, Daniel Reid, are seen outside court on Tuesday. (Marcella Bernardo/CBC)

"I'm just pleased that [Hamer-Jackson] now has counsel who has agreed to represent him, and that we have a date that we can work towards to finally give Coun. Neustaeter her day in court," the councillor's lawyer, Daniel Reid, said Tuesday.

The mayor's legal costs must be paid by him.

He says it's partially why he's trying to sell his home, his boat and the commercial property he owns on Victoria Street West.

Acrimonious relationship

For the last year, the rest of council has been asking the mayor to resign.

He responded by holding a news conference last summer, declaring he plans to seek re-election.

The province has been asked to help resolve the discord at city hall, but Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon says there's no way to force the mayor to leave.

Kahlon recently confirmed he's trying to update the Municipal Affairs Act, to avoid the type of thing that's happening in Kamloops, which has also been seen in some other B.C.communities.

WATCH | B.C. government to rein in dysfunctional councils: 

B.C. government to rein in dysfunctional councils

28 days ago
Duration 2:12
The B.C. government says it's looking at how to rein in dysfunctional city councils. A number of communities — most notably Kamloops — have been paralyzed by councillors and mayors investigating and sometimes suing each other, instead of focusing on city business. Justin McElroy has more on what prompted the government’s action, and how it could deal with the issue.

Kahlon also told CBC Kamloops that taxpayers should be concerned that more than a million dollars has been spent on legal issues involving the mayor.

"If I were a citizen of Kamloops, I would be pissed, quite frankly, because we elect our officials to treat each other with respect … those are dollars that could have gone to infrastructure. Those are dollars that could have gone to important community services," said Kahlon.

The minister added that the legislation won't be ready before the next civic election in the fall of 2026.

A man looks to the side, while in front of B.C. flags.
Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon said that the province is working on legislation to deal with dysfunctional councils. (Michael McArthur/CBC)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marcella Bernardo

CBC Kamloops

Marcella Bernardo is a reporter/editor for CBC News based in Kamloops.

With files from Akshay Kulkarni