The province of Alberta is being sued by five coal companies for $10.8 billion due to the government’s policy reforms on coal.
The companies claim the reforms have cost them billions in lost potential revenues and investments they made to mine the land they had already leased.
News of the lawsuit has led the provincial government and the Alberta Energy Regulator to be questioned as to why an Australian company was able to apply for exploration licenses regarding a potential coal mine at Grassy Mountain, in southern Alberta, in the first place.
In 2021, applications for the same site had previously been rejected by a joint federal-provincial regulatory panel.
The Northback Holdings Corp. also submitted an application recently, which is still under review by the regulator. Environmentalists are demanding the government do more for environmental protections.
The five plaintiffs filed separate claims to Alberta’s Court of King’s Bench.
They have been made by Cabin Ridge Project Ltd., Atrum Coal Ltd. and its subsidiary Elan Coal Ltd., Black Eagle Mining Corp. and Montem Resources Ltd. (recently rebranded as Evolve Power Ltd).
The case is scheduled to begin in early 2024.
All five companies were in the process of acquiring mines for metallurgical coal, used to make steel.
In 2020, the provincial government ended Alberta’s 1976 Coal Policy, which protected certain ecosystems and watersheds that flank the Rocky Mountains from open-pit coal mining.
However, due to a large public outcry, they reinstated the policy the following year.
During the policy’s reinstatement, the government decided to stop additional exploration on a large swath of land, deemed too ecologically fragile. The decision terminated a number of leases that were signed for potential new mines. A committee was also formed to consult with Albertans regarding what new coal mining rules would be made.
In 2022, Sonya Savage, who was serving as energy minister at the time, implemented an order declaring an indefinite moratorium on coal exploration.
The companies in question claim that those decisions dismantled the Alberta coal mining landscape which had already, “established regulatory guidance, land-use planning, and representatives of Alberta’s government all allowed and in fact encouraged exploration in support of coal development.”
Additionally, Atrum, and Black Eagle claim that they have had company representatives working alongside provincial officials since 2019, regarding policy matters. They claim that those officials had encouraged them to invest in Alberta with their proposed projects, without ever telling them that policy changes were in the works.
The companies allege that they had spent millions of dollars under the previous rules so that they could develop their projects but that these projects have now left them with land they cannot use and millions spent out of pocket. They claim that it’s up to Alberta to compensate them for their losses.
Alberta Energy Minister Brian Jean, told the Globe and Mail that the government is “committed to protecting the areas Albertans cherish, while allowing responsible resource development where appropriate,” but declined to comment further on the lawsuit.
