Water advocate calls for resignation of energy minister

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on February 22, 2025.

newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com

Chris Spearman, spokesman for Water for Food, says Energy Minister Brain Jean should resign immediately.

In a letter directed to Premier Danielle Smith on Wednesday, the former Lethbridge mayor says Jean has lost the confidence of Albertans after trying to mislead residents when he introduced the province’s New Coal Policy last December.

In the letter to Smith, Spearman says Jean unilaterally changed the classification of the Grassy Mountain Coal Project from ‘cancelled’ to ‘advanced,’ and provided no reasons for doing so.

Spearman also criticized the minister for hiding contractual obligations to coal companies from Albertans.

“Minster Jean intends to develop the New Coal Policy by consulting exclusively with the coal industry and by excluding Albertans who own the resource,” Spearman writes. “Jean has opened up the Rockies and Eastern Slopes to coal mining in a failed effort to prevent lawsuits by the coal companies against the Alberta government.”

Attached to the letter, Spearman sent Smith a document stating the project would require more than 558,000 cubic metres of water from York Creek, the Crowsnest River and a proposed new allocation from water reserves for local farms and communities when the Oldman Dam was built.

Currently there is pond water on the property that is significant for the proposed exploratory drilling by an Australian-based company that has filed for a permit and is currently under review by Alberta Energy Regulators.

“This latest dishonest spin from Brain Jean’s office is nothing short of a joke,” reads the document. “Coal mines use a lot of water, far more than a small, deadwater pond could ever provide.

“Albertans need someone who will be honest and transparent with us. We need an energy minister we can have confidence in.”

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