The Vista mine is located in Treaty 6 territory near Hinton, Alberta. To my knowledge, it’s the first thermal coal mine ever built in Canada for the sole purpose of supplying overseas coal plants.
Almost immediately after the mine opened in 2019, Coalspur Mines Ltd. applied for a massive new expansion. Right now, it’s approved to extract about six million tonnes of coal per year. But the company told the regulator it plans to increase that to upwards of 15 million tonnes, and in one recent publication, Coalspur announced its intention to push that as high as 20 million tonnes in the future.
So this is a massive mine, on a scale that is almost unprecedented—it would be one of the largest if not the largest coal mine in Canadian history. When that 15 million tonnes of thermal coal is burned, it will lead to about 33 megatonnes of carbon dioxide per year, the same as seven million passenger vehicles on the road. For comparison, the largest point source of carbon in Canada right now is a coal plant in Alberta that emits 12.7 megatonnes per year, so this would far surpass it.
“We’re looking at the most expensive hailstorm, and I
think the residents on the ground are probably not surprised as they’re
going through the rebuild on this,” Celyeste Power, western
vice-president of the bureau, told CBC News Wednesday.
The storm hit northeast Calgary, Airdrie and Rocky View County hardest.
It
damaged at least 70,000 homes and vehicles, and destroyed entire crops,
as hailstones the size of tennis balls fell at 80 to 100 km/h.
The $1.2 billion is just a preliminary estimate and could rise, Power said, as total costs are finalized in the coming months.
Under the new act, individuals will be able to bypass the local school board and apply directly to the provincial government to seek to establish a charter school. This follows a move last fall by the newly elected UCP to remove the cap (previously 15) on the number of charter schools in the province.
These recent developments provide the opportunity to better understand what charter schools are, how they’ve been taken up by advocates of educational reform and how their re-emergence and promotion under the UCP reflects the influence of neoconservative and neoliberal ideologies in education.
Roots of charter schools
Charter schools emerged largely from the Chicago School of Economics, inspired by the ideas of prominent thinkers like Milton Friedman. Friedman argued state “monopoly” over public education was problematic, and thus education should be instead subject to consumer choices and the dynamics of the free market.
While differing based on country and context, charter schools can be understood as a hybrid type of school — both public and private. Individuals or groups may seek to establish a school under a particular educational philosophy or approach. This charter then guides the administration and organization of the school.
As public institutions, however, charter schools must still abide by the policies, rules and regulations set out by the government. In this way, these schools can be seen as offering students and parents choice different from the local public school.
With funding is typically determined on a per-pupil basis, if parents decide not to choose a particular charter school, it may then close. Charter schools are also subject to competitive market pressures and often have to raise capital funding for expenses such as the school building or transportation themselves. That means charter schools may turn to fundraising from community-based or corporatesources. In the U.S., for instance, some charter schools can be run as for-profit entities.
Up until recently, discussion around their future or promise in Alberta has been somewhat ambiguous. But since the UCP was elected last year, the provincial government has sought to revive charter schools as part of broader educational and public sector reforms.
Last fall, the UCP also removed the word “public” from Alberta’s public schools boards, a move that can be critically viewed as an attempt to obfuscate the demarcation between public and private schools.
Charter advocates contend that as schools of choice, they offer students more specialized and meaningful educational experiences.
Critics often respond that choice is already available in public school systems and that charters don’t demonstrate any significant improvements in performance, and may in fact further segregate students, leading to greater educational inequalities.
Nevertheless, the evidence remains mixed as to whether charters provide any significant improvements to student achievement. The research and policy landscape is often contentious and heavily influenced by competing interest groups.
Charter schools were first introduced in Alberta under former premier Ralph Klein’s Progressive Conservative Party in 1994. Here, Klein in front of a campaign poster in February 2001. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
While educational reforms can and must occur in response to a changing world, public schools are meant to be resistant to political changes because they represent our core democratic values and are meant to develop to serve the needs of a diverse society.
Perhaps most importantly then, the debate over charter schools points to the fundamental political nature of public education.
Recent pre-pandemic educational reforms proposed in Ontario for mandatory online courses were seen by many educators, parents and students not as learning improvements, but rather as reforms motivated by a Conservative government with similar neoliberal politics, ideas and value systems.
With Alberta’s charter schools set now to expand, as I asserted in 2015, it is worth noting that to date, the rest of Canada has continued to largely — though not entirely — resist calls for “school choice” that imply forms of privatization.
Nevertheless, across Canada, chronic public underfunding of education has forced school boards to seek tuition revenue and promote for-profit curriculums.
The presence of privatization looms large and when education is defined as an industry, there will always be those who seek to profit from it.
As Canadians, the rejection of charter schools demonstrates our collective commitment to the some of the most important core principles of public education, including access, quality and equity. The idea of charter schools allows us to think deeply about our core values surrounding public education and the many promises which it’s asked to uphold.
The CBC article states, “On June 1, the United Conservative government of Premier Jason Kenney rescinded the coal policy. The full implications of this are not yet clear, but there is growing tension — both nervous and excited energy — about what it will bring.
“What is known is that the change happened suddenly, with virtually no public consultation but plenty of behind-the-scenes lobbying. And it didn’t happen in isolation. It came alongside a rapid-fire series of legislative changes that removed hurdles or industrial development, more broadly, during a particularly desperate economic moment.”
The word “mine” evokes images of soot-smeared workers in underground tunnels, but this is actually a mountain in the process of being deconstructed. A geologic wound. Its slopes are blackened and tiered, abuzz with enormous yellow trucks that look tiny from this distance, kicking up grey plumes of dust as they haul the pulverized mountain away, load by load.
The CBC wrote an article about the Grassy Mountain Coal Project today. Likewise, so did I. If you have an interest in Alberta environmental issues, you can click here to read the CBC article and click here to read mine.
An article in the Medicine Hat News describes the benefits they’ll see by having Highway 3 upgraded. The upgrade will carry through to Lethbridge. It’s said these repairs are crucial to the “Hat” and there is some discussion about twinning the highway. The Globe and Mail says, “Alberta is adding $1 billion to its budget to repair more roads, schools, bridges and potholes as a way to create jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.” No doubt, a lot of people will be thrilled.
Some upgrades being discussed are:
• Security building;
• Highway 3 intersection;
• Access road from Highway3 to the mine infrastructure area (approximately seven kilometres);
• Access road system from the mine infrastructure area to the pit operations (currently in the preliminary planning phase);
• Service road system from the mine infrastructure area to the CHPP infrastructure and train loadout area
• Water management structures including raw water wells for groundwater, CHPP reservoir, storage tanks, distribution pipe network;and
• Site-wide drainage civil works.
Understandably this will be a great advantage for Lethbridge and Medicine Hat businesses and residents. It will also be a huge benefit to Benga Mining Limited, from Australia, operating as Riversdale Resources. The Grassy Mountain Coal Project is being watched for its success very closely by a number of companies who will follow the company into the area to establish other mines.
It is unfortunate that such a pristine area of Alberta will destroy 2,800ha in the name of progress. Even more unfortunate if the mine is successful! They’re seeking approval for six extensive mountain top removal coal mines. Totalled, these could leave a path of destruction of 30-50 kilometres.
An article in the Prairie Post quotes Alberta Premier Jason Kenney as saying:
“We are also working on a potential additional metallurgical coal mines in the Crowsnest Pass. There are some big Australian multinational companies that have struck a partnership with the Piikani First Nation and (it’s) quite advanced,” added Kenney. “We have been clearing the way of regulatory hurdles. We may see multi-billion dollar capital investment in new coal miners in the Pas and that would certainly accelerate continue twinning especially on the west side of Highway 3. We want to move those potential coal mines ahead as quick as we can. As I say, this 46-km stretch will be done in 2023. If we get a commitment on one of those big coal mines before that, I think we may be able to expand the twinning in the medium term rather than the long term.”
This isn’t a thermal coal project for generating electricity. They’ll be mining metallurgical coal used in the construction of steel.
People today are still haunted by the Hillcrest mine disaster that happened in the Pass. It was the worst coal mining disaster in Canadian history which resulted in 189 of 228 workers killed. It happened on Friday June 19, 1914.
Tech Coal in British Columbia is having a huge problem with selenium contamination. It’s getting into the waterways and being detected as far away as Montana. It can cause growth impairment in fish, gill damage and even death. Some of the fish found in Elk River Elk River had deformities. The same environmental issues will have to be addressed at Grassy Mountain too. This mine will start on a previous site that was mined many years ago. (Pictured below)
While many people will be happy to have the work, there are health concerns for workers as well. A Wikipedia about it says, “published studies also show a high potential for human health impacts. These may result from contact with streams or exposure to airborne toxins and dust. Adult hospitalization for chronic pulmonary disorders and hypertension are elevated as a result of county-level coal production. Rates of mortality, lung cancer, as well as chronic heart, lung and kidney disease are also increased. A 2011 study found that counties in and near mountaintop mining areas had higher rates of birth defects for five out of six types of birth defects, including circulatory/respiratory, musculoskeletal, central nervous system, gastrointestinal, and urogenital defects.
These defect rates were more pronounced in the most recent period studied, suggesting the health effects of mountaintop mining-related air and water contamination may be cumulative. Another 2011 study found “the odds of reporting cancer were twice as high in the mountaintop mining environment compared to the non-mining environment in ways not explained by age, sex, smoking, occupational exposure, or family cancer history. “
The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada has a report, ‘Environmental hazard assessment of Benga Mining’s proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Project’ written by A. Dennis Lemly. He states, “A scientific analysis of environmental hazards of the project reveals numerous flaws in both the projected environmental performance of the mine and its regulatory control. From both environmental and economic perspectives, the proposed mine will do far more damage than can be reasonably justified on any level.
“The process of open-pit mining requires surface disposal of residuals, that is, the waste rock removed to gain access to the desired coal seam. This creates a stockpile of material which has the potential to produce large volumes of contaminated wastewater due to precipitation-induced leaching of toxic heavy metals, trace elements and other materials from the mineral matrix of the rock.”
An article at ‘Alberta Views’ explains the usual process of remediation. It says, “As the companies exhaust parts of the mine they are required to reclaim the site. This usually involves bulldozing the spoil heaps to slopes of less than 27 per cent and then spraying fertilizer and seed on top to get vegetation established. Even then, toxic chemicals can leach into nearby streams for decades.”
Before the companies are permitted to mine, they must have a plan in place for remediation. With the millions of dollars Alberta will spend on remediation of oil wells, we see that companies don’t always live up to their promises. Although they have good intentions, some of the waste piles just have a little dirt piled over the top of them.
Alberta doesn’t have to worry about the emissions produced by making steel with the coal. Most of it will be going to Australia. They will use half of it to make steel and sell the other half. Australia earns a lot of money selling metallurgical coal. It’s playing a central role in fuelling a steel boom in China. The world needs steel, so emissions are largely ignored according to Greenpeace. Overall we’ll be increasing emissions on a global level and contribute more to global warming, regardless of whether we get any honorary mention for it.
Is there a climate crisis?
One wouldn’t think so by taking a look at Alberta. In Ottawa, Trudeau seems to be leaning towards a greener future for Canada but there isn’t any way to score his card so far. There isn’t anything on it.
Joe Biden, who’s in the lead for the presidency, is teaming up with representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York. Last year, Mr. Biden proposed a $1.7 trillion plan aimed at achieving 100 percent clean energy and eliminating the country’s net carbon emissions by 2050. His teammate, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, may help him realize this goal.
If Mr. Biden wins, Canada may be forced into plan two.
What’s plan two?
Nothing really. We aren’t a force for climate change, we’re just riding on the shirttails of those who are, and we’ll be dragged into a green new deal whether we’re ready or not.
The Vista mine is located in Treaty 6 territory near Hinton, Alberta. To my knowledge, it’s the first thermal coal mine ever built in Canada for the sole purpose of supplying overseas coal plants.
