Unpublished Newswire

The mayor of Kamloops will no longer speak for the city, after council passed a resolution stripping him of his position as its official spokesman.The decision comes after more than a year of conflict between Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson, council, and city staff, including allegations that the mayor has poor communication skills, won’t accept responsibility, ignores confidentiality protocols, and misunderstands the rules around conflict of interest.A report to council last month, by former Abbotsford mayor Henry Braun, found that without significant change in how Hamer-Jackson interacts with...

A Quebec judge has ruled that smoking during a stage performance is a valid form of artistic expression, overturning a lower court’s decision and clearing three theatres that had been fined for allowing the practice.Superior Court Justice Jean-Francois Emond ruled today that the act of smoking during a fictional performance in order to convey a message is “expressive content” protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.Three Quebec City theatres had gone to court to challenge fines they’d received for allowing actors to smoke herb-filled cigarettes on stage between 2017 and 2019,...