Stop Open-Pit Coal Mining in Alberta!
The Alberta government is currently devising a new policy regarding coal-mining in the Rockies and Foothills of Alberta. YOUR voice is needed now to ensure a legislated ban on any new coal mines in the Eastern Slopes of Alberta, for the sake of Alberta’s freshwater, wildlife, fisheries, recreation, tourism, agriculture, and First Nations rights. While the “public consultation” process is skewed towards the Alberta government’s efforts to ensure coal-mining (eg. largely asking “how” and “where” coal-mining should occur in the Eastern Slopes, instead of “whether or not” it should occur at all), right now is a critical time for all Albertans to speak up and make it crystal clear whether or not you want new coal mines in the Eastern Slopes,
A massive uproar of ranchers, First Nations, hunters, anglers, local town councils, country music celebrities, and hundreds of thousands of Albertans protested the Alberta government’s removal of the 1976 Coal Policy that protected large swaths (ie. “Category 2” lands) of the Eastern Slopes from coal mining in May of 2020, and which they were forced to reinstate in February of 2021. A further uproar in April of 2021 forced the Alberta government to halt coal exploration on these lands.
However, large areas of the Eastern Slopes are not covered by the Coal Policy (ie. Category 3 and 4 lands) and several mines have been moving forward in the southern Rockies.
At risk across the region are the spectacular mountains of the Livingston Range in the southwest (between Pincher Creek and Kananaskis Country) in the headwaters of the Oldman River, along with the spectacular mountains to the east of Banff and Jasper National Parks in the Bighorn Country which provides much of the water to the city of Edmonton, and the foothills near Hinton and Grand Cache near Jasper National Park.
Open-pit coal mining is one of the most destructive and polluting industrial activities around and has no place in the world-renowned Rocky Mountains of Alberta. At risk are grizzlies, wolverine, bighorn sheep, elk and native fish populations, the water quality for millions of Albertans and for agriculture, the scenery and recreational opportunities for Albertans and that are needed by the province’s multi-billion dollar tourism industry, and the culture and rights of First Nations throughout the region.
Coal mining could also impact federally threatened fish species such as cutthroat, bull trout, Athabasca rainbow trout and candidate species such as arctic grayling, with threats to water quantity and quality (with selenium contamination, which causes deformities and reproductive failure in fish).
Tell the Alberta government to keep open-pit coal-mining out of the Rockies and Foothills of Alberta with a legislated ban on any new coal mines, and the federal government to halt the approval of any new coal mine projects in Alberta in the meantime.
SEND A MESSAGE to the Alberta and federal governments:
YOUR MESSAGE WILL BE SENT TO: Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, Alberta Environment Minister Jason Nixon, Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault, Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller, Federal Nature Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, and Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos. In addition, if you live in Alberta this message will also be sent to your own MLA.
Want to learn more?
Check out CPAWS, the Livingstone Landowners Group, and the Alberta Wilderness Association for their efforts to reverse this decision.
Alberta halts coal exploration while consultations continue
Alberta reinstates 1976 Coal Policy
Narwhal: Alberta’s renewed bet on coal
CBC: Video on mining in the Rockies
Digital Journal: Alberta rescinds regulations - will allow open-pit coal mines
Globe and Mail: Is Alberta selling its soul for a lump of coal?