TransCanada Buys Town’s Silence On Tar Sands Pipeline Proposal For $28K

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A small town in Ottawa, Canada will be receiving $28,200 from energy company TransCanada Corp. in exchange for not commenting on the company’s proposed Energy East tar sands pipeline project, according to an agreement attached to the town council’s meeting agenda on June 23.

Under the terms of deal, the town of Mattawa will “not publicly comment on TransCanada’s operations or business projects” for five years. In exchange for that silence, TransCanada will give Mattawa $28,200, which will ultimately go towards buying a rescue truck for the town.

“This is a gag order,” Andrea Harden-Donahue, a campaigner for energy and climate issues with the Council of Canadians, told Bloomberg News. “These sorts of dirty tricks impede public debate on Energy East, a pipeline that comes with significant risks for communities along the route.”

The terms of the agreement did not specifically mention the controversial Energy East pipeline, which would carry more than a million barrels of tar sands crude oil across Canada each day. However, the deal is being widely seen as a way for the company to avoid obstacles that may get in the way of the pipeline’s approval — especially considering the obstacles that have long plagued the approval of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline in the United States.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/07/05/3456698/mattawa-transcanada-agreement/

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1. Deal or no deal

most towns would never comment anyway. I've lived in many towns where most of the hospital equipment, playgrounds, rec centres (and, apparently, rescue vehicles) are possible because of money 'donated' by these oil companies. Communities would never speak up because they become dependent on the money...most are okay with it so long as the oil companies funnel money into their town.
ETA: I think it's unethical myself. I don't agree with it at ALL. Tax them and use that money for the hospital equipment, playgrounds etc.