Burnaby mayor defends $20M deal with Trans Mountain that limits city criticism

Burnaby’s politician is defending an statement betwixt the metropolis and Trans Mountain that would barroom metropolis unit from immoderate “negative nationalist communications” astir the pipeline company.

Mike Hurley said Thursday that the $20.1 cardinal “community publication agreement” is not a gag bid and that helium and metropolis councillors stay escaped to knock the company.

“This statement does not forestall maine oregon immoderate subordinate of assembly from saying what needs to beryllium said,” Hurley told Global News.

“I americium saying it close now. We ne'er wanted this project, we inactive don’t privation this project. But the task is present and we person to woody with the realities of what has taken place.”

Burnaby announced the statement this week, which it says volition “support exigency readying and information enhancements” related to the Burnaby Mountain vessel workplace and Westridge Marine Terminal.

Burnaby has agelong been a staunch hostile of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion, and conscionable weeks agone released a study and video simulation of a hypothetical large catastrophe related to the project.

Under the caller agreement, metropolis unit indispensable refrain from antagonistic comments astir the institution  “whether based connected information oregon sentiment oregon otherwise,” and region each antagonistic nationalist communications astir Trans Mountain from its website.

Hurley said that won’t see the study and video simulation, but added that present that the task is operating the metropolis has nary prime but to collaborate with the institution to guarantee safety.

“We person reached the constituent present wherever the installation is up and moving fully, the large ships are coming successful each time determination is 1 down determination getting filled,” helium said.

“We person reached a caller signifier I deliberation successful what our narration has to be, and that’s changed present to nationalist information and ensuring we are providing our residents with the champion information we perchance can. It’s intolerable for america to bash that without a collaboration.”

Under the agreement, the 2 parties indispensable besides nonstop immoderate property releases to each different up of publication.

Hurley downplayed the value of that clause, arguing the metropolis would ever pass with a institution oregon radical it was publishing a property merchandise astir successful bid to guarantee it was accurate.

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“We would spell to the institution and effort to spot if we tin person a associated release, if that’s not imaginable we would person our ain release,” helium said.

Eugene Kung, a unit lawyer with West Coast Environmental Law is not convinced, and said helium worries the statement creates a “chilling effect.”

“If a vessel occurrence oregon different spill is happening connected Burnaby Mountain is the metropolis going to archetypal person to spell to Trans Mountain for support to enactment retired a property merchandise successful an emergency? Those are unfastened questions,” helium said.

He said the presumption of the woody are akin to agreements signed with different municipalities and First Nations, which helium characterized arsenic a “culture of secrecy that seems to beryllium endemic astatine Trans Mountain.”

The Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, successful whose accepted territory the Burnaby Mountain facilities are located, has besides expressed interest astir the agreement.

“This has been a menace and a hazard that we person been asked to carnivore … and I conscionable don’t deliberation $20 cardinal implicit 5 years? That’s similar throwing 10 bucks connected a wildfire for the magnitude of harm this could cause,” said Elected Councillor Charlene Aleck.

“If determination was a catastrophe oregon a spill oregon a occurrence that happened astatine the vessel far, the information volition talk for itself and you can’t soundlessness that, nary substance however overmuch wealth oregon however overmuch gag they enactment connected it.”

For the 2nd day, Trans Mountain told Global News nary 1 was disposable for an on-camera oregon Zoom interview.

— with files from Rumina Daya