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Alberta, coal lobbyists talked for years about more open-pit mining in the
Rockies: documents
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Politics


ALBERTA, COAL LOBBYISTS TALKED FOR YEARS ABOUT MORE OPEN-PIT MINING IN THE
ROCKIES: DOCUMENTS

By Bob Weber The Canadian Press
Posted April 16, 2024 2:50 pm
Updated April 16, 2024 5:28 pm
4 min read

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2:04 Advanced application’ for Rocky Mountain coal mine stirs controversy
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Landowners in the Crowsnest Pass called it a betrayal: after successfully
lobbying the Alberta government to put a moratorium on all coal exploration and
development across the eastern slopes, it seems a controversial project at
Grassy Mountain came back up for consideration. Sarah Offin explains. – Sep 29,
2023
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Documents released under Alberta Freedom of Information laws confirm the United
Conservative Party government was talking with the coal industry about relaxing
a policy that protected the Rocky Mountains from open-pit mines long before
making those plans public.

The documents also show the province was talking about opening those landscapes
to the potential of more coal development for at least seven months before
letting Albertans in on its plans.

The Canadian Press has seen material released to a group of southern Alberta
ranchers, who have waged a four-year battle against Alberta Energy to understand
why the province rescinded a decades-old policy protecting the Rockies from coal
mines.

That decision sparked a rush of coal exploration interest on thousands of
hectares. It was eventually rescinded after a huge public outcry from citizens
who didn’t want open-pit coal mines on some of the province’s most beloved
landscapes.

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A judge last week stymied government attempts to block further document releases
concerning the decision, and the ranchers are now waiting for thousands more
pages.

During question period Tuesday, Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley called for
an apology from the UCP for forcing the ranchers to go to court to get the
documents.

Premier Danielle Smith said the government will make sure everyone gets the
required documents, which were generated under former premier Jason Kenney.

“We will abide by the decision of the court,” Smith said. “We obviously have had
a change in leadership in this file, and we will make whatever documents
available that the court requires.”

Energy Minister Brian Jean said the government has already released much
information on the coal policy.

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happens.

“The (judge’s) decision is under review to determine if an appeal should be
filed,” he said Tuesday in a statement. “We recognize that there is public
interest related to coal production in Alberta.”

The records already obtained refer repeatedly to meetings and communications
with industry over the policy well before it was rescinded in May 2020.

1:55 Mining company applies for Grassy Mountain drilling permit
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   decades-old power plant operating
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   mountain mines would overall negatively impact Alberta
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A note to the assistant deputy minister of energy on Jan. 20, 2020, which is
partially redacted, reads: “The coal sector has requested (redacted) removal of
the coal policy for a number of years.”

A note three days later from another Alberta Energy official says, “We’re aware
of the coal industry’s concerns.”

Related News
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   support
   

On March 5, 2020, deputy ministers from both Alberta Energy and Alberta
Environmental Protection met with the Coal Association of Canada.

A March 9 planning document states: “The coal industry has communicated to
Alberta that it would like the coal categories rescinded or significantly
updated so that it may have access to a modern regulatory system like every
other resource industry.”

By that time, planning for major changes to the policy that had protected the
eastern slopes of the Rockies since 1976 was well underway.

A document, titled “Coal Policy — Coal Categories Review Project Charter,” was
signed off on by officials from Energy, Environment and the Alberta Energy
Regulator on Oct. 29, 2019 — six months after the UCP first took office.

Among the charter’s objectives was reducing “regulatory uncertainty leading to
underinvestment by the coal industry,” it says.

No municipalities, environmental groups, First Nations or other organizations
have said they were contacted for input before the decision was announced on May
15, 2020 — the Friday before the long weekend.

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The documents were released to the ranchers in five separate packages between
2021 and 2023. They are heavily redacted under exemptions allowed by law. Of the
documents received, 605 pages are partly erased and 748 are completely blank.

The province’s Information and Privacy Commissioner has said many of those
exemptions were misused and ordered Alberta Energy to produce the requested
records. The government asked for a judicial review of that decision, but a
Court of King’s Bench judge on Friday refused the request.

> “Democracy dies in darkness,” wrote Justice Kent Teskey.
> 
> Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Democracy dies in darkness,"
> wrote Justice Kent Teskey.

Richard Harrison, a lawyer for the ranchers, said somewhere between 5,191 and
5,939 further documents are expected. He said the government has conceded on a
number of the redactions but hasn’t provided the information.

“Despite having abandoned those arguments for nearly one year, the ranchers
haven’t received the records,” he wrote in an email. “The (conceded) redactions
haven’t been removed and are still being asserted.”

Laura Laing, one of the ranchers who wants the documents, said she and her
colleagues just want to know why.

“We were trying to best understand how these decisions were made in the first
place,” she said in an interview Monday.

The delays and redactions didn’t seem right, said Laing.

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> “We didn’t feel that this was transparent, and we didn’t feel this was fair to
> us or Albertans.”
> 
> Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We didn't feel that this was
> transparent, and we didn't feel this was fair to us or Albertans."

Related News
 * Canada’s coal exports up again in 2023 as government’s promised ban elusive
 * Contamination from old Alberta coal mines raises cleanup questions

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