EDMONTON — The Alberta government has announced plans to ban new mountaintop removal and open-pit coal developments on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, but the new rules wouldn't apply to advanced projects like a contentious mine proposed for the Crowsnest Pass.
"Our job will be to develop a policy that will attract investment and create jobs while respecting and protecting the air, land, water and wildlife," he said. Public reaction was swift and angry, and the United Conservative Party government reinstated the protections and stopped selling exploration leases.
NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said the plan to collect more royalties represents a plan to increase production in Alberta, with no economic benefit and a lot of environmental risk. "It's economically illiterate. It's not going to create the jobs and the economic benefits that we need in Alberta," Nenshi said.