Photo by Georgialh —
A train heads west into the Crowsnest Pass from Coleman, Alberta (CC BY-SA 4.0)
“What the coal policy did was it said that if there was to be coal development throughout the eastern slopes, it was to all be done underground, because of the sensitivity of those watersheds,” says Laing. “With that policy removed, that removes that protection.”
The area of land that is subject to harm through this change in policy is 1,000 square kilometres — that’s about 247, 100 acres. A recent sale also puts parts of Kananaskis area at risk.
Moving forward, Smith and Laing have joined a group that will launch a judicial challenge against the government, along with Rocking P Ranch owners Mac and Renie Blades. Four First Nations are also filing judicial challenges similar to the ranchers’, on similar grounds, which have been stricken by the government.
A lawyer involved in the challenge firmly believes that the Kenney government has broken the law. It impacts more than just ranchers, it will affect all of southern Alberta and the users of water from this watershed. The best case scenario for the challenge is that the Coal Policy will be reinstated and open-pit mountain top removal coal mining stopped.
RealAgriculture has reached out to the Ministry of Energy for comment, with no response.