SUBSCRIBE & WIN! Sign up for the Daily CHAT News Today Newsletter for a chance to win a $75 South Country Co-op gift card!

(Canadian Press)
Legislature Committee

Private member’s bill to block coal mining in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains voted down

Mar 22, 2022 | 3:02 PM

A private member’s bill before the Alberta legislature that would have blocked all coal mining in the province’s Rocky Mountains has died after government members voted against it.

The bill, sponsored by Opposition New Democrat Leader Rachel Notley, was blocked by a legislature committee that decides which private member’s bills proceed.

Six members of the United Conservative Party government voted against allowing the bill to move to second reading, despite having voted in its favour when it was introduced last spring.

Since then, Energy Minister Sonya Savage has blocked coal development on those landscapes with a ministerial order she has promised not to withdraw.

Notley has said that’s not enough protection and the order can be withdrawn any time at the minister’s discretion.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2022.

The Canadian Press