Smith quips she might inspire a Corb Lund song in reaction to musician's anti-coal petition

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she welcomes the citizen-initiative petition against coal mining on the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains launched earlier this week by country musician Corb Lund.Lund told reporters on Wednesday, when he filed the application with Elections Alberta in Edmonton, that Smith encouraged him to pursue the petition at a June 11 town hall in Fort Macleod if he believed Albertans overwhelmingly opposed coal development.“She gave me the answer; she said that if we really didn’t want coal, we should start a citizens’ initiative,” Lund said.“So I’ve put together a legal team, and that’s what I’m doing.”.Speaking to reporters in Calgary on Friday, Smith joked that she hoped the campaign might inspire Lund to “write a song” about her.“I’m glad I’m able to be his muse,” she said in response to a question from the Western Standard.Smith said she supports the citizen-initiative process and intends to “watch with great interest.”She also said her government has responded to public concerns regarding coal development.“We changed the coal policy: no open-pit mining, no mountaintop removal,” she said, citing stronger rules around selenium contamination and the shift by some companies toward underground mining.Smith also said her government has been buying back leases and mineral rights while engaging with companies that have launched legal actions in response to the 2022 reinstatement of the coal policy — which put new coal exploration and development projects on ice across much of the province.In October, the Canadian Press reported that Alberta had paid $95 million to Evolve Power to end one of those lawsuits.Combined with a $143-million settlement earlier in the year with Atrum Coal, payouts to coal companies to date are approximately $240 million.Another company, Northback Holdings, whose proposed Grassy Mountain coal project is located in the Crowsnest Pass, also launched its own lawsuit in 2024, arguing that Alberta’s regulatory process for coal projects is fundamentally flawed.“We already have 30,000 hectares of freehold and mineral leases for coal that are now back in Crown hands,” Smith said..Coal mining debate heats up in Alberta as Corb Lund files citizen initiative.“We'll continue to have those negotiations to make sure that we're protecting our pristine areas.”The premier added that she believes most people understand the distinction between thermal coal and metallurgical (steelmaking) coal and that sectors supported by environmental advocates — including wind and solar — depend on mining that resource.“There’s a lot of steel that goes into making wind turbines,” Smith said.“If you love the solar industry, you need coal to be able to make those panels. We believe that if those are the kinds of investments that those on the left would like to see, then they’re going to have to also support some of the mining operations that allow for those, as well as all the mining operations that allow for batteries to be produced.”Lund’s petition needs to gather 177,752 signatures from eligible Alberta voters within 120 days of Elections Alberta granting approval.As he prepares to begin his signature drive, Smith said she is waiting to see how Albertans will respond.“We have a challenging conversation underway, but we are going to find the right balance to make sure that we're protecting the environment but also allowing those projects to go ahead,” she said.“We'll see what kind of reaction he gets to his petition.”

Smith quips she might inspire a Corb Lund song in reaction to musician's anti-coal petition

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