Council to consider coal and affordable housing
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on February 22, 2025.
Herald photo by Ian Martens
Mayor Blaine Hyggen will ask for council to endorse Green Acres renovations to Garden View Lodge, as a way to "increase the affordable housing opportunities for seniors, a priority population group identified in the City of Lethbridge's Municipal Housing Strategy."LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
Lethbridge city council will address two official business motions when it meets Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. in council chambers, one of them regarding coal mining on the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains.
Council, in its consent agenda, will also deal with a recommendation from the Economic and Finance Standing Policy Committee that it approve funding for three affordable housing projects.
That SPC, which consists of the mayor and all council members, voted unanimously at its most recent meeting on Feb. 13 to support the projects being undertaken MyCityCare, Green Acres Foundation and SettleEase Canada Foundation.
At that meeting the SPC voted to recommend council approve the expenditures of monies from the Affordable and Social Housing Capital Fund to those organizations. The grant was closed to formal intakes in May of 2023.
The SPC is recommending city council allocate $500,000 from the ASHCF to MyCityCare, $209,704.45 to the SettleEase Canada Foundation and $1,104,432.55 to the Green Acres Foundation.
Those recommendations are conditional to the organizations securing funding from provincial or federal sources equal to or greater than the City contribution, securement of the balance of project funding before June 30 of 2026 and the successful acquisition of development permits for projects.
The ASHCF presently has an available balance of $1,814,137 which a report to the SPC stated wasn’t enough to cover the funding requests from all four groups who sought monies, the other being the BIPOC Foundation which sought $686,466, a request which was not supported, primarily because it does not yet have land secured.
In the first of two OBMs to be presented to council, mayor Blaine Hyggen will ask for his colleagues to endorse Green Acres renovations to Garden View Lodge.
The reason for his motion is that the project “will increase the affordable housing opportunities for seniors, a priority population group identified in the City of Lethbridge’s Municipal Housing Strategy.”
Green Acres, says the motion, is funding and undertaking a project at the lodge to convert lodge suites that are under-utilized into self-contained apartments for seniors.
The second OBM, to be presented by councillor Belinda Crowson, calls on the City of Lethbridge to reconfirm that it is opposed to any coal developments that risk damaging the Oldman watershed, including the Grassy Mountain project.
The motion also calls upon Hyggen to publicly outline the City’s concerns about coal mining and ask the UCP government to ensure no such projects will be allowed on the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains.
And the motion also calls upon council to have administration at the March 13 meeting of the Economic and Finance SPC give a presentation on potential concerns about future coal mining for the watershed and the City’s water supply.
The motion is aimed at protecting both the watershed and businesses involved in agriculture and the agri-food industries here.
This is not the first time council will address the mining issues. On Oct. 19,2020, council adopted a resolution put forward by Crowson and fellow councillor Rob Myashiro directing then mayor Chris Spearman to send a letter to provincial officials including the premier, Minister of Environment and Parks and the Lethbridge East MLA highlighting city governance’s concerns about water quality while referencing the Oldman Watershed Council’s submission to the joint review panel on the Grassy Mountain project.
On Oct. 2, 2023, council directed Hyggen to write on its behalf a letter to the Alberta Energy Regulator about mining concerns.
In an Oct. 11, 2023 letter to then Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Shulz, Hyggen wrote “I am writing to reaffirm our concerns related to regional impacts of the requested Deep Drilling Permit by Northback Holdings Corporation associated with its plan to conduct a Coal Exploration Program on the Grassy Mountain Deposit, located in the headwaters of the Oldman River, north of Blairmore….
“The City of Lethbridge requests that the Government of Alberta thoroughly consider the potential for selenium contamination, monitoring and mitigation of the Oldman River headwaters and watershed prior to giving the most recent application by Northback Holdings any consideration.”
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While the provincial government ultimately holds jurisdiction over mining, the City of Lethbridge bears the direct responsibility of ensuring safe, potable water for its residents, businesses, and agricultural sector. This is not just a bureaucratic issue—it’s a matter of public health, economic stability, and long-term environmental sustainability. City council cannot afford to be passive bystanders, deferring to provincial decisions while the risks to the Oldman watershed remain unresolved. Instead, they must take a firm, proactive stance by demanding clear, evidence-based answers from both the province and mining companies. Anything less is a failure of leadership.
At this point, council needs to have its heels to the fire—the stakes are too high for vague discussions or uninformed decision-making. The public must hold elected officials accountable, insisting on full transparency, rigorous research, and an unwavering commitment to safeguarding Lethbridge’s water supply. Without this pressure, council risks making decisions in the dark, putting the health and future of the entire region at risk.