Alberta is settling with coal companies
Hi all.
Of late we have been hearing whispers of the GoA settling with some of the coal companies. I have been reluctant to write about that with concerns around potential lack of credibility. However, as a result of yesterday’s town hall in Okotoks, one of our very trusted cohorts returned from the event with the news of the Premier saying that the government has settled with three companies and is working on a fourth. No names were revealed.
An hour ago I received this information originated from The Globe and Mail. The links contained within it are behind a paywall but the summary info is telling. The article only speaks to two (named) companies having settled, with a third in the wings but as I said above, Danielle Smith indicates more.
Here is the most recent info we have:
From The Globe and Mail
Alberta (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/topics/alberta/) has settled with two of the companies suing the province for a collective $16-billion over the government’s flip-flop on coal policy.
Evolve Power Ltd. and Atrum Coal Ltd. say they have reached agreements with the government to resolve their claims alleging the de facto expropriation of their coal assets, according to notices posted to each company’s website.
What Albertans will pay the coal mining companies, however, remains unknown.
Both Evolve and Atrum noted that details of the settlement are still being discussed and would remain confidential until they are finalized, but said they expect to update shareholders on the agreements later this year.
Peter Doyle, the chief executive officer of Evolve, told The Globe and Mail he was unable to comment while negotiations are underway.
Alberta’s Ministry of Treasury Board and Finance said in an email that it also could not comment because the litigation is not yet finalized.
But the Ministry of Energy and Minerals noted in Alberta’s year-end financial report, released last week (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-alberta-unexpected-surplus-resource-royalties/), that its total expenses were $356-million higher than budget, “primarily related to settlement of litigation claims and cost of selling oil.”
At the heart of the claims is a series of changes made to provincial coal policy by the United Conservative Party government.
In 2020, it nixed a land protection policy that dated back to 1976, prompting a furious public backlash (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-alberta-government-faces-backlash-from-public-and-country-music-star/) that forced the government to reverse its decision the following year.
The government then cancelled leases earmarked for potential new mines and declared an indefinite moratorium on coal exploration.
In January this year, the Alberta government scrapped the series of ministerial orders (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-alberta-rescinds-coal-development-ban-for-foothills-of-the-rocky/) that banned coal development in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, returning to an older policy that in part relies on land categories to govern where mines are built.
Companies that had already spent millions developing mine plans tried to recoup some of those costs by suing the province. The result was two lawsuits – one filed in 2023, the other in 2024.
The first suit was a joint case involving four separate submissions (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-companies-suing-alberta-for-108-billion-over-changes-to-coal-policy/) to Alberta’s Court of King’s Bench by Evolve (formerly Montem Resources Ltd.), Atrum and its subsidiary Elan Coal Ltd., Cabin Ridge Project Ltd. and Black Eagle Mining Corp. All were pursuing mines for metallurgical coal, which is used for making steel.
The Alberta Court of Appeal ruled in February that the province’s former energy minister, Sonya Savage, would have to testify in the case (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-former-alberta-energy-minister-must-appear-for-questioning-in-coal/).
The other suit was filed in June 2024, by Northback Holdings Corp. It argued that the joint federal-provincial review of its proposed Grassy Mountain mine in the Crowsnest Pass was flawed and that dozens of provincial officials acted in bad faith when they “consistently assured Northback that the Grassy Mountain Project would be subject to a fair and transparent regulatory process.”
The Alberta Energy Regulator recently granted three controversial exploratory applications (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-alberta-regulator-approves-coal-applications-at-grassy-mountain/) to Northback for a rejigged Grassy Mountain mine.
Cabin Ridge, Black Eagle and Northback did not immediately return requests asking whether they had also settled with the province.
Mr. Doyle, from Evolve, has been vocal in the past about the United Conservative Party government’s flip-flops on coal policy.
In a December interview, he said it had decimated investor confidence in the province, and underscored the poor job it was doing to manage Alberta’s economy.
“They don’t know what they’re doing. There’s no leadership. It’s a terrible place to invest,” he said at the time.
A chunk of Evolve’s investors are in Australia, including the largest long/short fund on the Australian Stock Exchange, which Mr. Doyle said refuses to invest in Alberta again until something changes.
We will keep you posted as we hear more.