"Democracy be damned"

Kevin Van Tighem refines Brian Jean's definition of democracy

Dear Mr. Jean

You are quoted in yesterday’s Globe and Mail as having said, with regard to the proposal by Northback to open a mine on Grassy Mountain, that “democracy has had its day.”

Democracy has not had its day.

Your government was elected in 2019 without once mentioning its intent to open the Eastern Slopes to coal mining.

You did that without an electoral mandate. Democracy only had its day when Albertans overwhelmingly forced your government to back down.

Your government was reelected in 2023 after having assured Albertans that the original Lougheed Coal Policy was back in place and that we could assured that there would be no coal mining in the Eastern Slopes. You did not seek, nor get, a mandate to change or water down that commitment.

You are doing that now without our consent.

With regard to the non-binding referendum in the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass: that referendum excluded almost a quarter of the tax-paying property owners in the Pass, almost certainly because most of them would have voted “no”.

It also excluded everyone in the MD of Ranchlands where the mine will be located. And it also excluded everyone else in Alberta, including all the downstream and downwind residents who will have to live with the consequences of water withdrawals and water pollution should Grassy Mountain go ahead. It was not democracy; it was cynical.

In your announcement you said there would be no further public consultation, even though you know that over 70% of Albertans, when asked, said they want no more coal mining in the mountain and foothills headwaters of our major rivers.

In saying that, you essentially said “democracy be damned."

Democracy has not had its day. This has nothing to do with democracy. If it did, you would have announced a firm and final end to any thought of coal mining in the Eastern Slopes, including on Grassy Mountain.

We continue to wait for your government to show an honest commitment to democracy, and to ban coal mining for good. When that happens, democracy will have had its day.

Kevin Van Tighem

High River, Alberta

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