The Editor:
Re: Federal Greens condemn Trans Mountain deal, say it 'silences' City of Burnaby (Oct. 8, 2024)
The “community contribution agreement” is a chilling power move by Trans Mountain, and Burnaby city council let them get away with it.
The agreement states that it “does not constrict the public communications of City Councillors”, however the city, city staff and consultants shall not “make, distribute or communicate in any way to any person any negative public communications, whether based on fact or opinion or otherwise, directly or indirectly, related to the other party, including any communication regarding past disputes.”
It therefore appears that when city staff prepare public reports to city council related to Trans Mountain, they will have to edit out any negative comments even if those comments are factual.
Similarly, information posted on the City of Burnaby website will have to be edited for negative comments even if it is factual.
For over a decade, residents of Burnaby have raised serious, real and appropriate safety concerns regarding the Trans Mountain pipeline and tank farm. How can residents know that the city has our back if open and honest communication is now constrained?
According to the NOW:
When asked if the agreement was the only way Trans Mountain would agree to work with the city, Hurley said: "I don’t know if it was the only way, but this is the way that staff brought it back to us, and they've been working on this for a while."
If city council felt that Burnaby was being obstructed by Trans Mountain, did they reach out to Burnaby’s MPs — Burnaby North-Seymour MP Terry Beech, who arguably has more knowledge and experience about Trans Mountain than any other politician, and Burnaby South MP and federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh?
When the federal government approved the expansion project a second time on June 18, 2019, MP Beech stated:
"Although it is still my view that the tank farm does not belong on Burnaby Mountain, I want our neighbours on the Mountain to know that on June 1st, the Prime Minister and I, along with Mayor Hurley and the Burnaby Fire Department met to discuss how we can make Burnaby Mountain safer than it is today. The Prime Minister assured our community that the necessary resources will be in place and that we will work directly with the Mayor and the Fire Department to ensure this is the case. In the longer term, I will continue my work to move the tank farm to a more appropriate industrial location."
So, what happened? Did our local leaders continue to work with the federal government?
One also has to ask how the city council decided that $20 million is enough to address public safety and emergency response related to the Trans Mountain facilities?
And until there is more communication with Trans Mountain, it is not possible to say that all the information concerning safety and emergency response is already in the public domain.
Elizabeth May stated, “This is a blatant attempt by Trans Mountain to buy the city’s silence, and it undermines public trust in both local government and corporate transparency.”
- Christie Cunningham, Burnaby
