Boos, cheers and pointed questions: Emotions flare at coal town hall with Danielle Smith, ministers

By Somya Lohia, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

“You took us down!”

“What about the back room deal?”

Voices shouted in protest, fists pounded on chairs and anti-mining placards waved in the air at the Fort Macleod community hall as Premier Danielle Smith stepped to the podium June 11 to face sharp scrutiny over Alberta’s coal future.

Dozens stood along the walls, while others shifted in their seats — arms crossed, eyes fixed, waiting. What followed was a tense, often emotional exchange between Albertans worried about their land and leaders promising a balanced path forward for coal development.

The town hall came on the heels of the Alberta Energy Regulator’s decision to approve Northback Holdings’ application to begin coal exploration at Grassy Mountain, nestled in the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains. For many residents, it felt like déjà vu — a renewed push into territory long considered ecologically sensitive.

Premier Smith was joined by Energy and Minerals Minister Brian Jean, Environment and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schulz, Agriculture and Irrigation Minister RJ Sigurdson, and Livingstone-Macleod MLA Chelsae Petrovic.

Audience members booed, applauded, shouted and pressed their leaders on the integrity of scientific studies, the sincerity of public consultation and the long-term consequences of mining development in one of Alberta’s most iconic landscapes.

For more than the scheduled two hours, panel members defended the province’s evolving coal policy in the face of visible distrust.

Smith opened the meeting by distancing her government from the policy mess she says it inherited, referencing a $14-billion lawsuit filed by multiple coal companies after leases were cancelled under the previous government.

“What we’re trying to do is to try to find a common ground in a way that certain projects can go ahead with a responsible, modernized policy, using best practices,” she said.

Smith emphasized that Alberta’s updated approach to coal was shaped by consultations with more than 30,000 Albertans.

The focus, she said, includes a comprehensive approach: incorporating Indigenous perspectives, ensuring balanced land use, reviewing tenure and royalty structures, and enforcing rigorous project assessments.

Among the promises: a ban on mountaintop removal and open-pit mining, stronger water protections, and a commitment to use the “best available techniques” to manage environmental risk.

Much of the room, however, wasn’t buying it.

When Smith pointed to Northback’s proposal as a possible example of responsible development, several audience members raised concerns about selenium contamination and questioned the credibility of the technology promised to keep water clean.

To this, Jean responded by pointing to how much science has evolved.

“Twenty, 30 years ago, did we even know selenium was an issue? We didn’t,” he said. 

The province, he said, is trying to do everything that keeps the residents safe.

“We continue to monitor, continue to listen to the experts and continue to get evidence.”

That reassurance didn’t sit well with a rancher from Pincher Creek. During the question-and-answer session, he raised concerns about the coal policy threatening multigenerational agricultural livelihoods dependent on clean water.

Addressing the issue, Smith acknowledged the region’s spring drought and emphasized that water-quality thresholds remain well below harmful levels.

“For Tent Mountain, where there’s a higher selenium level, the runoff is still testing at 1.3 micrograms per litre — far below the safe drinking water level of 50 micrograms,” she said.

She further said that Grassy Mountain has significantly lower selenium levels, and companies are being encouraged to avoid mountaintop removal in favour of underground mining, which causes less weathering and therefore less selenium release.

“If you don’t disturb the surface, then you’re going to have less impact on air, water and the land,” she said.

But some in the crowd pointed to recent fish-tissue studies showing selenium levels already exceeding federal guidelines in Crowsnest Lake. 

Jean added that scientists found fish of all ages in the monitored lake, suggesting reproduction has not yet been impacted, though studies are ongoing.

“We continue to monitor, continue to listen to the experts and continue to get evidence,” he said.

Schulz acknowledged the concern and urged for patience.

“Yes, that level is above the fish guideline,” she acknowledged, but stressed that the findings are still undergoing peer review.

“We published that report. That is how much we value transparency.” 

Schulz also fielded questions about air quality, pointing to Alberta’s monitoring systems and reiterating Smith’s statement that open-pit and mountaintop mining would not be allowed.

“Just like water, we do maintain our air-quality standards,” she said. “Our regulators are expected to uphold the guidelines that we put in place, and we do monitoring.”

Another speaker shifted the focus to Alberta’s growing outdoor recreation and tourism sector, which could be affected by the coal mining operations.

“Outdoor recreation is a very big part of our future, and I think we’ve got a great opportunity to do that,” Jean responded, citing a reclaimed mine near Edmonton that residents now want to convert into a public park.

“Those folks want to donate it to the people of Edmonton, so they can use it for a recreational area,” he said. “They cleaned up the tailings pond so it can be used for fishing and swimming, because the community wants to use it.”

A member of the Blackfoot community asked about Indigenous consent and economic participation.

Jean responded that consultation would be central to the policy.

“We need to do it right, and we’re going to do it right,” he said.

Besides contamination, water scarcity was another flashpoint and Sigurdson acknowledged the burden placed on ranchers and irrigation districts during recent drought conditions.

“That’s why we’re investing so much in irrigation and water storage,” he said. “We’re putting hundreds of millions of dollars towards these types of investments that are going to be crucial to provide the stability that we know is necessary to make sure the water is there for farmers and ranchers, as well as our municipalities.”

Schulz added that reducing freshwater use across all industries is a key part of Alberta’s resource strategy.

Although the tone of the meeting was largely adversarial, a few in the audience expressed gratitude for the panel’s presence.

One attendee questioned why opposition was so vocal when about 72 per cent of Crowsnest Pass voters had supported the Grassy Mountain coal mining project in a 2024 plebiscite.

But for most, skepticism lingered. As the meeting wrapped up, attendees filtered out of the hall still debating whose voices are truly being heard, and what it will mean for the headwaters, hills and history of the Eastern Slopes.

The evening didn’t offer final answers. But it did make one thing clear: coal remains a deeply divisive issue in southern Alberta — and Albertans are far from done talking about it.