Albertans are saying yes to metallurgical coal

By Lethbridge Herald on November 13, 2025.

Editor,

This letter responds to Doreen Barrie’s Oct. 29 column, “Albertans need to step up and protect our water.”

Ms. Barrie’s article presents a narrow, one-sided view of this proposed project. 

I live in the Crowsnest Pass and I voted yes—along with 72 per cent of our community—for developing metallurgical coal on Grassy Mountain. Does that mean my neighbours and I don’t care about our land, water, or wildlife? Absolutely not.

When our community was asked to vote on whether we wanted this project, we responded overwhelmingly with a “yes.” Seventy-two per cent of residents voted in favour, with turnout above 50 per cent. That’s a definitive measure of support for developing the Grassy Mountain project.

Ms. Barrie calls on Albertans to attempt to trigger a referendum on the project. I doubt she would celebrate the result. 

Recent polling conducted by Janet Brown shows that six in ten Albertans believe Alberta should allow the mining of steelmaking coal. Support rises to 74 per cent when companies demonstrate they can protect waterways and the environment.

Albertans understand that we can develop our resources responsibly while protecting our environment – we’ve been doing it for generations. Our commitment to continuous improvement means we keep getting better at balancing development with impact.

Have there been issues at legacy developments? For sure. Coal mines in the Elk Valley have been in operation for over 100 years. That doesn’t mean those same issues will continue. Technology and processes improve.

Modern steelmaking-coal projects plan for water and selenium management from day one, utilizing engineered waste-rock storage, lined facilities, active treatment, and other advanced tools to manage this critical issue. 

Comparing a modern project in the 2020s to a legacy mine is a false analogy. Lessons learned over the years have led to tighter rules, stricter regulations, and better designs. Somehow, Ms. Barrie’s article omits that context.

More than 80 per cent of the world’s steel is produced using metallurgical coal. The world will need steel for the foreseeable future, so that demand will be met somewhere, by someone. And “green steel”? Despite the headlines, it accounts for less than one per cent of global production—and that is unlikely to change soon.

We’ve allowed a small but deafening activist crowd to stall natural resource development in Canada by shouting “no.” If we want to get our country back on track and build a strong, growing economy that is less reliant on the United States, we need to start saying “yes.”

Ultimately, our community believes we can both protect water and create opportunities for our children and grandchildren. 

We want them to build their futures here in the Pass. That future includes clean air, fresh water, and good, mortgage-paying jobs.

Carmen Linderman

Blairmore