Opposed to Open Pit Mining & Rescinding of Alberta Coal Policy (1976)

First: Never jeopardize our water resources, and do not underestimate how passionately voters feel about this increasingly scarce resource.

Second: Albertans and Canadians expect our governments to protect our landscapes for fish and wildlife, recreation, tourism, and future generations.  Open pit mining is simply too destructive with little employment generation and very questionable profits/royalties.

Third: Albertans must be consulted.

David Luff helped develop the Lougheed government's Coal Policy in 1976-77. His strong opposition to the Kenney government's rescinding of that policy is compelling. In an interview he was asked what Lougheed would likely think about the Kenney government's recent decisions. He thought Lougheed would likely find the rescinding of the coal policy "ethically and morally wrong" given that there was no consultation with Albertans who are directly and negatively affected, and that recommendations by government staff to consult the general Alberta public were disregarded by ministers.

Finally, while the following Parliament of Canada petition collected 27,709 signatures and is now closed, please consider me the 27,710th contributor:

Petition to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change (#e-2912)

Whereas:

• The proposed Grassy Mountain coal mine will destroy the upstream water quality and quantity of the Crowsnest River and upstream tributaries that flow through the proposed project;
• The project will remove millions of tons of overburden which will be dumped into adjacent valleys polluting watercourses including the Oldman watershed which is the source of water for hundreds of thousands of Albertans;
• The project will create impoundment ponds which will leach selenium in high concentrations into the surrounding environment destroying existing agricultural and recreational activities for decades;
• The project will destroy tourism development and quality of life in-migration; and
• Recent and ongoing developments of clean energy sources such as hydrogen, will soon replace thermal and metallurgical coal, negating the need for destructive coal mining projects.

We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to cancel the Grassy Mountain Coal Mine application.

History (https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-2912#accordion1-collapse-item-3)

Open for signature

November 16, 2020, at 2:10 p.m. (EDT)

Closed for signature

January 15, 2021, at 2:10 p.m. (EDT)