Crowsnest council sets date for coal vote

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on September 19, 2024.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

The Crowsnest Pass municipal council has set the date for a non-binding vote of electors on a question regarding coal mining in the region.
The vote will be staged Nov. 25 with CNP electors being able to cast a ballot in their voting subdivisions from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
An advanced poll is scheduled for Nov. 19 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Community Hall (formerly Elks Hall) located at 2025 129 Street in Blairmore.
Electors who are away from the jurisdiction on Nov. 25 and the advanced poll date can still vote through special ballot. An application for the special ballot may be made in writing, by telephone, by fax, in person Or by email.
A release on Wednesday from the municipality says information on how to request such a ballot will come out shortly.
Council has also passed a motion to allow for Institutional Voting at Peaks to Pines, Crowsnest Pass Health Centre, Tecumseh Apartments and the Returning Officer will work to coordinate voting times for those locations in the upcoming weeks.
The upcoming was passed by CNP council on Sept. 10.
The question that will be asked on the ballot is “Do you support the development and operations of the metallurgical coal mine at Grassy Mountain?”
The municipality says “the Vote of the Electors process is similar to a plebiscite or referendum and is held in accordance with the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA).”
Pass residents who meet the criteria in the LAEA Section 47 will be eligible to vote. Those criteria include being at least 18 years old, a Canadian citizen that resides in Alberta in Crowsnest Pass on voting day.
“If a person has more than one residence, the rules that govern which one is their place of residence under the act is detailed in section 48,” says the municipality.
Councillor Dean Ward put forward the motion stating “in the last 10 years Northback and its predecessors have been attempting to develop a coal mine to the north of our municipality. Many individuals, organizations and levels of government have expressed an opinion on whether this project should move forward or not. Unfortunately very few of these groups have asked the opinion of the residents of the Crowsnest Pass.”
If this project moves forward, “the Crowsnest Pass will be the location of housing, increased infrastructure needs, the supplier of emergency services and numerous other municipal facilities for the employees of this mine,” adds the motion.
In a phone interview last week, Ward told The Herald that the Crowsnest Pass welcomes and supports tourism but that industry doesn’t provide the well-paying jobs that a mine does, jobs that can convince a bank to give a resident a big mortgage.
Ward and fellow councillor Lisa Sygutek told the Herald that 84 per cent of the tax burden in the CNP is on the residential sector. And that is unsustainable if the community wants to bring in the infrastructure and facilities needed to maintain and grow the region.
“It is such a controversial, contentious issue but this will allow the public to send a very clear message,” Ward said.
The Crowsnest Headwaters organization told the Herald, also last week, that it would be lobbying hard against a ‘yes’ vote.
David Thomas of Crowsnest Headwaters called the vote “a pointless exercise” that will needlessly cost the municipality $27,000.
“If they are so concerned about municipal finances, why are they spending $27,000 of taxpayer money on a referendum they admit has no legal effect. The mine property is not even in the municipality of Crowsnest Pass. It is the MD of Ranchland where council opposition to the mine is unanimous,” said Thomas.

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