Burnaby barred from ‘negative public communications’ about TMX under $20M deal

Less than a period aft releasing a study into the imaginable for catastrophe from a large incidental astatine a Trans Mountain Pipeline facility, the City of Burnaby has struck a woody with the company.

And the presumption of the statement person already sparked controversy.

“TMX has fundamentally bought the soundlessness of the city, and astatine the aforesaid time, the metropolis has fundamentally gagged itself, and that’s not antiauthoritarian oregon ethical, and I wouldn’t beryllium amazed if a beardown statement could beryllium made that it’s besides amerciable successful usurpation of constitution oregon provincial oregon national law,” said Duff Conacher with Democracy Watch.

In a sparse connection posted to its website, the City of Burnaby said it had finalized a “community publication agreement” with Trans Mountain that volition present $20.1 cardinal to the municipality to “support exigency readying and information enhancements.”

“The statement highlights a shared committedness to collaborating successful exigency effect to immoderate lawsuit involving Trans Mountain facilities,” the metropolis said.

But it is the good people of the woody that has spurred concern.

Among the commitments is an statement that the parties to the woody volition cease “any antagonistic nationalist communications” astir 1 different “whether based connected information oregon sentiment oregon otherwise” and “including immoderate connection regarding past disputes.”

The parties indispensable besides nonstop immoderate property releases that notation each different to the different enactment up of publication, and the City of Burnaby indispensable region each antagonistic nationalist communications astir Trans Mountain from its website.

It’s a abrupt about-face from a metropolis whose long-standing nationalist absorption to the $34 cardinal pipeline enlargement was connected show erstwhile again conscionable a period ago, arsenic it released a study and video simulation of a hypothetical catastrophe astatine Trans Mountain’s Burnaby Mountain vessel workplace oregon marine export terminal.

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“Municipality, immoderate level of authorities are expected to uphold the instrumentality and support the public, and if a institution is doing thing incorrect clasp them accountable, not collaborate with them and cooperate, that could easy crook into covering up something,” Conacher said.

While the woody does not forestall the politician and councillors from talking astir Trans Mountain, it does rise questions astir what they would beryllium capable to say, fixed the statement prevents unit from publically speaking retired against the company.

Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley, the City of Burnaby and Trans Mountain did not respond to requests for interviews.

— with files from Rumina Daya