Kamloops councillor responds to mayor’s lawsuit denying all accusations of defamation

KAMLOOPS — A Kamloops councillor being sued by the city’s mayor has denied all allegations he has made against her.

The denials are contained in a legal document filed by Councillor Katie Neustaeter in response to a lawsuit brought forward last month by Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson.

On June 12, Hamer-Jackson filed a Statement of Claim against Neustaeter in B.C. Supreme Court, alleging defamation regarding statements she made about his conduct and relating to his contact with her father, former Kamloops MLA Kevin Krueger.

The mayor cited a statement Neustaeter made to media on March 17, in which she referred to Hamer-Jackson repeatedly “violating personal and professional boundaries,” as well as emails copied to the rest of council.

Neustaeter filed her response Monday (July 24), denying the statements she made constituted defamation.

In the document, Neustaeter describes several occasions in which Hamer-Jackson brought up interactions with Krueger, saying she repeatedly asked Hamer-Jackson to leave her family out of city dealings, a request he ignored. This includes an instance in which Neustaeter says Hamer-Jackson told both her and the rest of council that he had “set up a meeting with your dad and I know a lot of stuff about your family.”

Neustaeter says Hamer-Jackson forwarded private information about Krueger to the rest of council, against her wishes and irrespective of Krueger’s right to privacy.

Neustaeter also claims Hamer-Jackson asked Krueger to seek her assistance in having a member of City of Kamloops staff fired.

With respect to Hamer-Jackson’s alleged boundary violations, Neustaeter spells out several examples:

• Hamer-Jackson refused to place one councillor on the deputy mayor schedule or committees because her spouse said something critical about him on social media
• Hamer-Jackson incorrectly suggested one councillor was in a conflict of interest because his spouse is a City of Kamloops employee
• Hamer-Jackson attempted to interfere in the employment of one city councillor’s son with the City of Kamloops
• Hamer-Jackson disclosed a City of Kamloops staffer’s family member’s death live on radio
• Hamer-Jackson implied another councillor was in conflict related to his spouse

In his initial Statement of Claim, Hamer-Jackson alleged Neustaeter’s prior allegations of boundary violations caused certain members of the public to infer that he “physically or sexually harrassed, abused or assaulted [Neustaeter] and/or others.”

Neustaeter denies the statements she has made about Hamer-Jackson’s conduct constitute defamation, saying they are either factual or represent fair comment, the expression of opinion protected in Canadian law.

Hamer-Jackson is seeking unspecified general damages, aggravated and punitive damages, and costs.

None of the allegations by either Hamer-Jackson or Neustaeter has been proven in court.

READ Neustaeter’s legal response: