Achi news desk-
It took four years in court, but finally a group of Eastern Slope rangers will have access to thousands of pages of documents outlining when and how the province decided to tear up 44 years of coal policy.
“The courts are blocked by resistance to release these materials that belong to Albertans,” said Laura Laing, a ranger based west of Nanton.
“As hard as they have been fighting for us not to see the rest of the documents – because what has not been redacted is pretty damning – I would suggest that we have a lot to discover on this file.”
The group had already received a series of five packs from the province through FOIP, but more than half of the 1,300 or so were completely empty.
Those documents were disseminated between 2021 and 2023.
Many questions remain.
“Like, how did we get to almost open up the entire Eastern Slopes to industrial open pit mining – it would have been the biggest development Alberta has ever seen – without Albertans knowing?” Laing said.
There are some clues – a review of the 1976 coal policy on the Eastern Slopes was underway at least as early as October 2019.
The policy introduced under Peter Lougheed’s government stopped all mining development along almost the entire Eastern Slopes from Crowsnest Pass to Kananaskis Country.
But late on the Friday afternoon before the May 2020 long weekend, the province issued a statement saying it was accepting new coal license applications.
Following widespread public outcry, Jason Kenney’s government eventually reinstated the long-standing defense policy, but not before attempting to auction off rights as far north as Mist Ridge in Kananaskis and allowing the construction of at least 65 kilometers of new exploration roads.
“This feels like validation of a lot of hard work and a lot of energy from some good people,” said Rachel Herbert of Trails End Beef near Nanton.
Current Energy and Minerals Minister Brian Jean’s office issued a statement on Wednesday:
“The decision is being reviewed to determine whether an appeal should be filed. We recognize that there is a public interest in coal production in Alberta, which is why the department has released many public documents and information through requests FOIP and other disclosure mechanisms. With the exception of the designated advanced coal projects, the ministerial order preventing coal development and coal exploration in the foothills remains in force.”
