Coal lease pause not enough, say groups
Poll
Yes
By Tim Kalinowski on January 20, 2021.
A portion of an interactive coal activity map (https://gis.energy.gov.ab.ca/Geoview/Coal) shows the area around the Crowsnest Pass and the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in southern Alberta. Alberta Energy
Southern Alberta conservation groups and some public officials are welcoming the UCP government’s announcement that it will be putting a pause on new coal leases in the Eastern Slopes and cancelling new offerings on 11 leases with the Oldman River headwaters, but stress this gesture does little to address the many more lease offerings the government has already approved since unilaterally rescinding the Coal Policy in June of last year.
Posted: Jan 19, 2021 2:52 PM MT | Last Updated: January 20
This is a file photo of the open-pit coal mine at Sparwood, B.C. The Alberta government wants to open up the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains to similar operations.(Edward Burtynsky/Nicholas Metivier Gallery)
The province urged the Alberta Court of Queen s Bench on Tuesday to dismiss an application for a judicial review of the UCP government s decision to allow open-pit coal mining on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. There s no getting around the fact that the decision to rescind the coal policy may be seen as an unpopular one to some Albertans, said Melissa Burkett, a lawyer for the government.
Coal lease pause not enough, say groups
Poll
Will you visit a business if they open in spite of health restrictions that say they can’t?
Yes
Southern Alberta conservation groups and some public officials are welcoming the UCP government’s announcement that it will be putting a pause on new coal leases in the Eastern Slopes and cancelling new offerings on 11 leases with the Oldman River headwaters, but stress this gesture does little to address the many more lease offerings the government has already approved since unilaterally rescinding the Coal Policy in June of last year.
“I think it is an important reward to the thousands of Albertans and Canadians who rejected the revocation of the Coal Policy, but it is also a very small reward, says Ian Urquhart, conservation director with the Alberta Wilderness Association.