Premier, ministers did an excellent job handling coal town hall
By Lethbridge Herald on June 25, 2025.
Editor,
Congratulations and apologies are due to the ministers and premier who participated in the coal town hall meeting held in Fort Macleod.
Congratulations because they had the courage to speak clearly and expressed determination to modernize the Provincial Coal Policy
Apologies because of the rude nature of the opponents of mining who demonstrated that the mentality of a crowd is low, boiled down to rash statements and insults.
The town hall meeting is indeed the last of the “blood sports” and I wonder if a more efficient process is possible. For example, could it be possible to have individuals submit their questions on a card thus avoiding the need for a long line of individuals and personal posturing?Â
This would allow for the moderator to present questions from those for and against the issue at hand, thus avoiding the intimidation practices apparent in some of the crowd.
The process that occurred allowed a variety of individuals opportunity to firstly extol the context of their lifetime of environment opposition and self-righteous recognition then only to be followed by weak questions, although this was not always the case.
The issue of selenium was front and centre and there was recognition that the Elk River/Lake Koocanusa reservoir has “legacy selenium” that accumulated before the “how to deal with selenium” was announced and implemented by Teck Resources. The Legacy impact may not be solvable for that river system, however, here in the Crowsnest River system with the Northback Grassy Mountain Mine proposal, we have no “legacy selenium” and therefore can move forward implementing the “how to deal with selenium” practices now working elsewhere.
It is interesting to note that water leaving Crowsnest Lake contains a measly 1 microgram per litre of selenium and that level moves out onto the prairie and by the time the Crowsnest River water in the Oldman reaches Lethbridge, the level rises to 7 micrograms per litre. At least that is what I have heard. If this is true, perhaps the cowboy hats who attended the town hall meeting or the Oldman Water Council can explain why this is happening?
Once again, I would like to thank Ministers Sigurdson, Jean and Schulz and our articulate Premier Danielle Smith for the courage to arrange and attend this town hall meeting.
Tim Juhlin
Coleman
13-12
…the other side of it….
“Guest Post by Bradley Lafortune: I went to Danielle Smith’s Coal Town Hall in Fort Macleod and here’s why it went off the rails. Alberta’s premier touts populism in general but is committed to exceptionalism in practice, writes the director of Public Interest Alberta.”
http://www.albertapolitics.ca/2025/06/guest-post-by-bradley-lafortune-i-went-to-danielle-smiths-coal-town-hall-in-fort-macleod-and-heres-why-it-went-off-the-rails/
There is no other side when it comes to Incivility and other forms of boorish public behaviour. It appears there was plenty of that.
Look in the mirror and your posting history, “Pot calling the kettle black”-an example of psychological projection, or hypocrisy. 10 out of 10 on the syncophant scale of diagnosis.
Apparently Tim is another one of these mindless Rural Albertans who doesn’t get it, and shows no respect for our children’s future. Can he explain where our children and grandchildren are going to find the money to pay for a $500 billion oil well cleanup mess that these Rural Albertans apparently don’t care about, a $85 billion debt, and $20 billion deficit to repair roads and bridges, because we can’t. Can he explain why Lougheed’s protection was taken off when Lougheed knew how dangerous coal mining would be for our water supply and the lawsuits it could bring to the people to face?
He doesn’t care that the coal industry has been fined $60 millions for polluting the water in B.C. and Montana, why?
Can he explain why these Reformers, pretending they are conservatives have been allowed to screw Albertans out of $1.2 trillion by destroying our hero Lougheed’s oil royalties and corporate tax structures? Of course he can’t and he doesn’t care, does he?
With Albertans , farmers and ranchers, starting to wake up to the financial mess stupidity we are facing with Alaskans and Norwegians living like kings why is he surprised by peoples reaction. We aren’t that stupid, so why are these Rural Albertans, who don’t give a damn?
Electing another UCP MLA doesn’t make these Rural Albertans look very smart does it? You just told Smith that you fully support putting our water supply at risk of pollution , go ahead and privatize our healthcare and education systems, and you welcome having your farmland poisoned by abandon oil wells, and don’t care it renders them worthless when you want to sell out and retire that’s how stupid you are, aren’t you?
I guess it just irritates Albertans to be lied to by their elected representatives. Genial genuflecting is not effective – gentle pushback is in order.
The letter writer should focus less on his distaste for dissent, and more on the facts that this project risks the quality of our water and our health.
After spending 24 years living in 10 different Rural Alberta communities I have lost all respect I had for these rural people and I think some former rural residents that I have talked to have it right.
This next generation watched their parents and grandparents vote Conservative and they still do. They can’t seem to realize that these Reformers are nothing like the Conservatives we proudly supported under Lougheed in Getty. They need to wake up don’t they?
gosh, the letter entirely turns me around: smitty et al are now thoughtful, intelligent do-gooders having to overcome the likes of rebellious, misinformed, mine haters. do not the mine haters understand that having selenium in our water system saves us from the having to buy expensive brazil nuts for our recommended daily allowance of selenium.
Or as the American Oilmen that I was involved with said “ Albertans are the dumbest people on the planet for allowing Ralph Klein to destroy the oil royalties that Lougheed created for you. Don’t you people know it’s none renewable”.
Some were from Alaska and they certainly knew that Klein was literally living away our oil wealth and what it would do to us, and they were right.
Alberta oilmen told me that some of the Americans ones they worked with told them that had to get the oil out of Alberta as fast as they can before Albertans woke and realized how badly they had been screwed.
That was in the mid 90s and it’s now 2025 and these Reformers are still doing it and the stupid Albertans still don’t care that they are being screwed, that’s how stupid they are, isn’t it?
And the usuals prove my point.
Perhaps, when the UCP brain trust shows up in Okotoks, they will arrive prepared to offer the true science on the impacts of coal mining on our environment, and acknowledge their error in inviting foreign coal to mine in our eastern slopes.
I hope the mayor of Okotoks will get to speak. But I expect this event will be greatly controlled for attendence and questioning by the party faithful.