Peace, Order, & Good Local Government

Conflict of Interest Elected officials of local governments are subject to conflict of interest rules. These rules are typically codified in municipal government enabling legislation, but they may also be subject to common law (judge made) rules. British Columbia’s conflict of interest rules are set out in ss. 100-109 of the Community Charter and they are typical of the rules for elected municipal officials across Canada. In general terms, if a council member attending a coun

The BC Supreme Court decision in Hamer-Jackson v. Neustaeter, 2026 BCSC 155 provides a good illustration of the law and what can happen when a member of council sues another member of council for defamation. In this case, the Mayor of Kamloops, Reid Hamer-Jackson, sued a member of council, Katie Neustaeter, for defamation. At the material time, the relationship between the Mayor and City Councillors was conflicted due in part to the fact that some City Councillors, including

Sayward is a small village of about 350 residents on Vancouver Island. Mark Baker is the mayor. During Mayor Baker's tenure as mayor, the village experienced significant political turmoil. Council meetings were often contentious, finances were under strain, councillors resigned, and there was even public discussion about whether the municipality should continue to exist. Into this already turbulent environment came a series of complaints about Baker's conduct. The controversy