$20M deal bars Burnaby from speaking badly about Trans Mountain

After years of fighting and court battles, the City of Burnaby has signed a $20.1-million deal with Trans Mountain Corporation that prohibits the municipality and company from communicating unfavourably about each other to the public. 

The Community Contribution Agreement bars "negative public communication, whether based on fact or opinion ... including any communication regarding past disputes," while also stipulating that Burnaby remove from its websites and communication channels "all negative public communications about Trans Mountain, its operation, shareholders, and affiliates..."

It says both parties must provide each other a copy of any public announcement for pre-approval prior to release. 

Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley said the agreement ensures the acrimony of the past is left behind so the city and Trans Mountain Corp. can work together on public safety issues going forward. 

"There's no gag order at all and certainly I, as mayor, or any member of council can say anything they want to say, as they could before," he said.

The controversial Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project (TMX) faced significant opposition by Burnaby council and citizens over the years, with the city filing numerous court challenges against the construction, all of which were ultimately dismissed by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The $35-billion project was completed earlier this year, tripling the amount of diluted bitumen and oil moving from Alberta to the the Parkland refinery and TMX's Westridge Marine Terminal, both located in Burnaby.  

"Reality is, those tankers are coming in now," Hurley said. "There's one getting filled every day. These are massive tankers. Oil is still flowing through Burnaby Mountain and down to that loading facility ... and we can't be prepared without an agreement with TMX about how that's going to be managed."

According to the 11-page Community Contribution Agreement, Trans Mountain will pay Burnaby $20.1 million over the next 21 years.

The first $5 million will be paid when they sign the deal. A further $5 million will be paid on the last day of both 2025 and 2026, followed by a further 17 instalments of $300,000, to be paid at the end of each subsequent year in the agreement.

Hurley said the city is free to spend the money as it chooses.

Burnaby Coun. Sav Dhaliwal said council "held their nose" when agreeing to the deal.

"The City of Burnaby has been in opposition to TMX from day one and we went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada — not once, but six times — and we lost every time," he said. "It's important now to work with TMX to ensure safety and security for our citizens, regardless of our differences ... so that's why we are where we are."

Dhaliwal, like Hurley, said the agreement does not mean mayor and council have given up their right to speak about TMX publicly.

"I'm not going to be gagged for any price," he said. 

University of British Columbia political scientist Stewart Prest said the agreement highlights the "combined interests of government and industry." 

"Perhaps council will want to think about a way to show that they can independently represent the interest of voters that don't align with business, at the same time they are continuing to cooperate with business," he said.

"That's a tall order and perhaps ultimately up to voters to keep an eye on things."