Coal Consultation called a staggering betrayal of the public’s trust

The Alberta Wilderness Association says Alberta quietly posted the Terms of Reference for the Coal Consultation policy, calling it a ‘betrayal of the concerns of Albertans.’

The association say more than two weeks after Energy Minister Savage announced a coal consultation process, the Government of Alberta quietly posted the Terms of Reference for this consultation.

President Ian Urquart says ‘The Terms of Reference clearly are at odds with the open conversations where the widest spectrum of views would be heard that the government promised Albertans on March 29th. These Terms of Reference, deliberately hidden from the public for more than two weeks constitute a staggering betrayal of the public trust.

On March 29th Minister Savage promised the consultation would be ‘open to all’ and The Alberta Wilderness Association says they took Minister Savage at her word.

During the March 29th news conference, Dr. Ron Wallace, the Committee Chair, said the Committee’s job is to first of all listen to the widest spectrum of people in Alberta and that a lot of the views are going to be based on aesthetics, values, and traditional values. The Terms of Reference make it very clear that these views and the wide spectrum of Albertans who hold them are not welcome before the Committee. Since they are outside the purview of the Minister of Energy they are irrelevant to the Minister’s understanding of what this consultation should do. They have no place in her modern coal policy.

Urquhart said The terms of Reference were written to ignore the vast majority of the concerns Albertans have expressed, making it a very disappointing day for people who thought the Kenney government had started on the path to take those concerns seriously.

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