ABLawg

By: Nigel Bankes

PDF Version: What Are the Implications of Reinstating the 1976 Coal Development Policy?

Matters Commented On: Alberta Energy Press Release, “Alberta’s 1976 Coal Policy Reinstated” (February 8, 2021); Information Letter 2021-07 “Coal Policy Reinstatement” (8 February 2021) and attached Ministerial Order 054/2021

On February 8, 2021, Minister of Energy, Sonya Savage announced via press conference that, effective immediately, the 1976 Coal Development Policy (CDP) would be reinstated. The formal press release noted that “[t]his includes reinstating the four coal categories, which dictated where and how coal leasing, exploration and development could occur.” In addition, the release stipulated that “[a]ll future coal exploration approvals on Category 2 lands will be prohibited pending widespread consultations on a new coal policy.”

But these decisions alone will not restore the status quo as it stood prior to June 1, 2020 when the UCP government revoked the CDP without consultation. This makes the claim of reinstatement hollow – for at least two reasons.

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By: Nigel Bankes

 PDF Version: Coal Law and Policy in Alberta, Part One: the Coal Policy and Its Legal Status

Issue Commented On: Revocation of the Coal Development Policy for Alberta (1976); Department of Energy, Information Letter 2020-23 “Rescission of A Coal Development Policy for Alberta and new leasing rules for Crown coal leases” (15 May 2020)

I don’t need to tell anybody living in Alberta that there has been a lot of talk recently about coal. Most of that talk has been directed at the Government of Alberta’s decision, to revoke a policy adopted in 1976 known as the Coal Development Policy for Alberta (CDP or Policy).

Once it became widely known, the decision to revoke the policy attracted the attention of civil society and of the media. Interest in the decision is growing and many local governments including Lethbridge, High River, Nanton, Longview, Canmore, Edson, Okotoks, Airdrie and Turner Valley have weighed in on the issue. So too have the Kainai-Blood Tribe and the Siksika First Nation. A significant number of these governments have adopted resolutions either questioning the decision to revoke the coal policy or simply demanding that the Government of Alberta reinstate the policy. Much of the commentary focuses on the environmental and health costs associated with coal mining as well as the conflict between coal mining and other visions for the future of the eastern slopes of the Rockies (e.g. Sharon J Riley, “An Alberta County drafted big tourism plans. Then came the coal leases”, The Narwhal (6 February 2021))

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