In 2020, the Alberta government quietly rescinded a long-standing Coal Policy with no public consultation.
This opened up 53,000 square kilometers of western Alberta’s landscapes, including our foothills and Rocky Mountains, to open-pit coal mining.
A move that puts drinking water for millions of people, recreation access and wildlife habitat at risk.
K.D. Lang
Join those speaking up
Since then Albertans across the province, from all political spectrums and backgrounds, have asked for mountains, not mines.
Ranchers, Indigenous peoples, recreationists, communities, conservation groups, and many others have stood up to challenge this. Recently musicians such as Corb Lund, k.d. lang and Paul Brandt have shown their support for these areas.
Recent research points to protection
And they’re right to do so. This month, new research shows Alberta’s Eastern Slopes as one of the most important places in Canada for its combination of freshwater, carbon storage and recreation — not to mention important wildlife habitat.
Yet, in the months since the coal policy was quietly rescinded in May, approximately 358 new coal agreements have been granted in the Province, many within this key portion of the Yellowstone-to-Yukon region.
Most of the public’s attention has been on the dozens of leases in Alberta’s southwest, and rightly so. Coal mining the headwaters of the Oldman River threatens the drinking water for millions of Albertans and those downstream in prairie provinces.
But other areas are affected too, like the Bighorn backcountry between Banff and Jasper National Parks. This affects the North Saskatchewan River, where Edmonton and other communities get their water from.
Add your voice to this issue. It’s not too late.
You can help stop this. Join others and speak up. Let government know what you think about this shift in policies.
Tell the Province that Alberta’s Eastern Slopes should be kept as intact as possible and that our headwaters are no place for open pit coal mines. Tell them you want our mountains protected. Explain why you value these lands.
Write decision-makers.
Tweet at, call or write to your MLA. Even if you’ve done it before. Even if you’ve only received a form letter or no response in return.
Also contact these provincial and federal ministers. This decision matters on a national scale.
- the provincial Minister of Environment and Parks at AEP.Minister@gov.ab.ca
- the Minister of Energy at minister.energy@gov.ab.ca
- and the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change at ec.ministre-minister.ec@canada.ca
Share this message
Tell your friends and family and urge them to speak up for nature. Share our social media posts about coal mining with your networks: Instagram / Twitter / Facebook.
Speaking up for nature matters. Standing up for what’s right counts.
Thank you for sharing this and other issues impacting our planet’s lands, waters, people and wildlife with others.
Hilary Young,
Senior Alberta program manager
Header photo: A. Jacob
