Coal and Communities Town Hall – May 18, 2021

May 18, 2021

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• Coal
• Livingston-Porcupine
• Public Lands

Alberta’s Rocky Mountains and Foothills are facing an unprecedented threat; coal mining exploration and development in the Eastern slopes has the capacity to pollute vital headwaters and completely dismantle fragile ecosystems.

AWA, in partnership with the Coal Policy Working Group and other ENGOs and concerned citizens, is hosting a series of virtual public “town halls” that explore particular aspects and impacts of coal mining in Alberta. Each town hall in this series is comprised of a panel of speakers that will share their expertise and experiences with the audience, in addition to answering questions.

The first Town Hall of the series focused on Coal and Health, and featured Lars Sander-Green from Wildsight, retired biologists Kirby Smith and Lorne Fitch, Peter Sainsbury from Climate and Health Australia, and Dr. Tim Takaro at Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences. The second Town Hall focused on Coal and Economics with talks from Chris Severson-Baker of the Pembina Institute, Cornelis Kolijn of Teck Resources, and Willem Langenberg and Ian Urquhart, both from the University of Alberta.

On May 18^th, 2021 we hosted the third talk in our series, with the discussion topic being Coal and Communities. Panel speakers explored the challenge coal mining poses to communities in Australia and Alberta’s Eastern Slopes. Panelists included Latasha Calf Robe, Co-founder of the Niitsítapi Water Protectors; Moira Williams of Tipping Point Australia – Helping local communities oppose Galilee Basin Coal Products; Heather Davis, owner of Uplift Adventures in the Crowsnest Pass; and Stephanie Duarte-Pedrosa, university student and participant in the Grassy Mountain hearing.

Links and Resources:

• Watch a recording of the Coal and Communities Townhall on YouTube.
• Download a PDF copy of Moira Williams’ presentation Coal Mining in Australia’s Galilee Basin.
• Web resources referenced by Latasha Calf Robe in her presentation:
  ● The True Spirit and Original Intent of Treaty 7
  ● Blackfoot Ways of Knowing

If you would like to get involved in the issue of coal mining in Alberta, please consider writing a letter to the appropriate decision maker. AWA is recommending that letters be sent to the Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, federal Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, and that they be copied to provincial decision makers.

Contact info for Minister Wilkinson, and relevant provincial ministers and leaders, can be found below. This information is also on a downloadable PDF that can be found here [Download].

As always, we appreciate if you would copy AWA’s Conservation Director Ian Urquhart on any such correspondence you send.