Former Lethbridge mayor Chris Spearman has demanded that Danielle Smith hold a referendum on the future of coal mining in Alberta.Spearman was just one of many citizens who turned up to voice their concerns about the industry and the government's actions during a town hall hosted by the United Conservative Party on Wednesday in Fort Macleod.It came just weeks after Northback Holding Corporation's controversial coal mining project at Grassy Mountain was approved by the province's energy regulator.A vote showed to majority of residents in the area supported the Northback plan..Spearman began by claiming that the UCP governments elected in both 2019 and 2023 "didn't have a mandate to open up the coal mines," and asked Smith to let the people of Alberta decide."Could you commit to us as quickly as you did to the separatists that you would hold a referendum on coal mining in Alberta and abide by the results?" he asked as the audience cheered..Smith responded by reminding Spearman that he should know full well how citizen-initiated referendums work, adding that her government had "lowered the threshold to make it easier for anyone to put a question to the people.""You can sign up 177,000 people, then we can put it on referendum, absolutely," she said. "There'd be a yes side and there'd be a no side, and Albertans would have to decide if paying $14 billion [to the industry] instead of spending it on schools, hospitals, and roads is what they want to do, or whether they think that a reasonable amount of mines can go forward so we can generate a few hundred million dollars per year."Smith made it clear, "I believe in citizen-initiated referendums; I believe in democracy.".The premier tried to explain to the crowd that her government had moved forward on coal projects because of lawsuits they inherited from their predecessors.."When we came in, we had a multitude of coal companies that had launched a $14 billion lawsuit for cancelling their leases," Smith told the crowd. "Now I know there's a lot of landowners in this room, and you know how I feel about property rights ... and that is why we changed our Bill of Rights to say that if anyone has their property taken from them for public use, they would get full, fair, and timely compensation."She explained that if the government does nothing and loses those cases, the province will have to pay the $14 billion, and that in an attempt to "find common ground," it was decided that "certain projects can go ahead with a responsible, modernized policy."Smith expressed hope that Alberta will be able to settle with some of the companies and take rights out of use so the land never gets developed for mining.
