Friday Focus: Digging Ourselves a Hole
While Albertans are focused on US President Trump’s threat to put a 25% tariff on Canadian exports, the Alberta government has quietly lifted a moratorium on coal mining. This seems to have happened to avoid lawsuits filed against the province by mining companies seeking $15 Billion in compensation for their losses. That’s about 20% of Alberta’s 2024-25 total budget!
The government got itself into this predicament when the UCP lifted the Lougheed-era moratorium on coal mining in the eastern slopes during Premier Kenney’s tenure. That moratorium was reinstated after revelations of potentially devastating pollution of southern Alberta’s watersheds.
Strip mining coal releases toxic chemicals like selenium into rivers and streams, contaminating drinking water and harming fish, wildlife, cattle and us. Air pollution from coal dust and emissions increases rates of asthma, heart disease, and even cancer. It’s costly for our health and for our healthcare system. Industry has been consulted about the selenium pollution and supposedly will have to have a plan to deal with it, but we’ve already seen what happens when companies are responsible for cleaning up their messes in Alberta. They often abandon them. Alberta has over 170,000 orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells, and the cleanup is expected to cost taxpayers $260 billion. Open-pit mining could leave us with a similar burden. Once the mining companies take their profits and leave, Albertans will be stuck paying for toxic water cleanup (if that’s even possible), land reclamation, and healthcare costs.
As usual, the UCP isn’t getting to the root of the problem. The real problem is unemployment in the Crowsnest Pass. We need a government that can find ways for people in the Crowsnest Pass to have steady employment without resorting to strip mining us into environmental disaster. We need leaders who will protect our health, environment, and finances—not risk them for short-term gains. We need leaders who have a vision for the future that we can all embrace. Join me and say no to pollution and yes to a cleaner, safer Alberta. Let’s find ways to solve the real problem without sacrificing our health.