Amiskwaciwâskahikan/Edmonton | Moh’kinstsis/Calgary, AB |
Conservation organizations challenging the Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER) decision to terminate the Mine 14 public hearing are urging the Alberta Court of Appeal to restore public confidence by reinstating the hearing process. In a finalized legal argument filed Tuesday, the organizations are asking the Court to revoke the approvals allowing Mine 14 to operate.
Represented by lawyers from Ecojustice and Napoli Law, the Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Northern Alberta (CPAWS NAB) allege that the AER’s decision to cancel a scheduled public hearing for Valory Resources’ Mine 14 project, and the subsequent approval of its development, was unlawful.
The case centers around AER CEO Rob Morgan’s unprecedented decision to unilaterally cancel the public hearing — the only formal opportunity for communities, Indigenous nations, and experts to scrutinize the project in person. The decision marked the first time in AER history that a CEO has overturned the regulator’s independent judge-like hearing commissioners and cancelled a public hearing
Ecojustice lawyer Susanne Calabrese said: “Public hearings are one of the few ways Albertans can learn the true impacts of coal mining in our Rocky Mountains. Our regulators are meant to stand with the public — not behind closed doors with the industries they oversee. By cancelling the Mine 14 public hearing after a coal company asked them to do so, the AER has raised serious questions about transparency and accountability. All Albertans should be wondering: what is the CEO trying to hide?”
Despite the fact that the AER is meant to be an arms-length regulator, documents obtained through freedom-of-information requests show the CEO’s decision came following an undisclosed meeting between Mr. Morgan and a senior political official. Internal records show that upon receiving a request to cancel the hearing, Mr. Morgan immediately sought “input” from the Minister of Energy and Minerals’ Chief of Staff, who along with the Minister, had been contacted by Valory. Valory had assured the Chief of Staff that cancelling the hearing was a “win/win/win.” The groups say this raises serious concerns about political interference and unequal access.
It’s since come to light that the AER’s own hearing commissioners felt similarly about their CEO’s decision. Conversations obtained through an access to information request filed by Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, an intervenor on this appeal, revealed that Morgan’s decision was “gravely concerning” to some hearing commissioners, who felt it “undermines the authority and autonomy of the [Hearing Commissioner’s Office] and appears likely inconsistent with law.”
“In his decision to cancel the Mine 14 public hearing, Morgan appointed himself the de facto judge, jury, and executioner in regulating resource development in Alberta,” said Kennedy Halvorson, AWA Conservation specialist. “It should concern everyone that despite the checks and balances meant to be in place, and the separation of powers supposedly inherent in Alberta’s governing and regulatory processes, one person would assume absolute authority to veto public participation. It is a dangerous precedent we must challenge; the implications otherwise are serious.”
“Albertans have been promised over and over again that our environment and our water are being well taken care of by the regulator. If the companies seeking to profit off Alberta’s landscape are whispering in the ear of the CEO to get what they want, there is a clear conflict of interest,” says Tara Russell, program director at CPAWS Northern Alberta. “This is a breakdown of public trust in the process. We are challenging the decision because we deserve better, and our water and wildlife deserve better.”
Cancelling the hearing removed the public’s only meaningful opportunity to raise concerns about the mine’s impacts to water, wildlife, and public health — all while the proponent continued to engage decision-makers behind closed doors.
The Mine 14 project is proposed in ecologically sensitive and important areas in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains — and will be the first new metallurgical coal development in Alberta since 2004. In recent consultations on a new coal policy for Alberta, the majority of Albertan’s have responded asking for no new coal mines in the Eastern Slopes. The groups say the case raises broader concerns about the independence of the AER and its obligation to act in the public interest.
The court will be asked to decide whether the AER acted lawfully in cancelling the hearing and approving the project. A hearing date is expected in late 2026 or early 2027.
Background
- Public opposition to new coal mining developments in Alberta has grown significantly in recent years, particularly over concerns about impacts to water quality, wildlife, ranching, agriculture, tourism, recreation, and the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.
- Much of the controversy stems from the Alberta government’s 2020 decision to rescind the province’s 1976 Coal Policy, which had restricted coal development across large areas of the eastern slopes. Critics say the policy change was made with little public consultation and opened environmentally sensitive headwaters regions to coal exploration and development.
- Following widespread backlash from municipalities, landowners, Indigenous communities, conservation groups, scientists, and the public, the government later reinstated parts of the coal policy in 2022. However, concerns about ongoing coal exploration and project approvals remain.
- Critics have raised concerns about transparency and regulatory oversight, arguing that some coal projects advanced with limited public scrutiny and that public participation processes have been weakened or cancelled altogether.
- Alberta rancher and musician Corb Lund has become one of the most prominent public voices opposing coal mining expansion in the Rockies through the Water Not Coal campaign — a citizens initiative petition that ends June 10th. The campaign has received significant media attention across Alberta and nationally.
- Several advocacy and conservation organizations continue to campaign against coal development in Alberta’s eastern slopes, including Alberta Beyond Coal.
- The Alberta government has also faced criticism over financial settlements paid to coal companies following cancelled leases and policy reversals. Critics questioned both the size of the payouts and the circumstances surrounding the agreements.
- Additional background on Alberta’s coal policy controversy: Video explainer on Alberta coal controversy
For more information please contact:
Cari Siebrits, Communications Strategist | Ecojustice
(647) 620-1212, [email protected]
Kennedy Halvorson, Conservation Specialist
(403) 283-2025, [email protected]
Tara Russell, Program Director, CPAWS Northern Alberta
(778) 240 4360, [email protected]
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