Lower than a month after releasing a report into the potential for catastrophe from a significant incident at a Trans Mountain Pipeline facility, the Metropolis of Burnaby has struck a cope with the corporate.
And the phrases of the settlement have already sparked controversy.
“TMX has basically purchased the silence of town, and on the identical time, town has basically gagged itself, and that’s not democratic or moral, and I wouldn’t be shocked if a powerful argument might be made that it’s additionally unlawful in violation of structure or provincial or federal regulation,” mentioned Duff Conacher with Democracy Watch.
In a sparse assertion posted to its web site, the Metropolis of Burnaby mentioned it had finalized a “group contribution settlement” with Trans Mountain that can ship $20.1 million to the municipality to “assist emergency planning and security enhancements.”
“The settlement highlights a shared dedication to collaborating in emergency response to any occasion involving Trans Mountain services,” town mentioned.
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However it’s the advantageous print of the deal that has spurred concern.
Among the many commitments is an settlement that the events to the deal will stop “any damaging public communications” about each other “whether or not primarily based on reality or opinion or in any other case” and “together with any communication concerning previous disputes.”
The events should additionally ship any press releases that reference one another to the opposite occasion forward of publication, and the Metropolis of Burnaby should take away all damaging public communications about Trans Mountain from its web site.
It’s a sudden about-face from a metropolis whose long-standing public opposition to the $34 billion pipeline growth was on show as soon as once more only a month in the past, because it launched a report and video simulation of a hypothetical disaster at Trans Mountain’s Burnaby Mountain tank farm or marine export terminal.
“Municipality, any stage of presidency are alleged to uphold the regulation and defend the general public, and if an organization is doing one thing fallacious maintain them accountable, not collaborate with them and cooperate, that would simply flip into protecting up one thing,” Conacher mentioned.
Whereas the deal doesn’t forestall the mayor and councillors from speaking about Trans Mountain, it does elevate questions on what they might be capable of say, given the settlement prevents employees from publicly talking out towards the corporate.
Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley, the Metropolis of Burnaby and Trans Mountain didn’t reply to requests for interviews.
— with information from Rumina Daya
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