First Nation seeks court ruling on Alberta ending coal mining moratorium

Jack Farrell · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jul 04, 2025 1:47 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

An Alberta First Nation is asking a justice to reappraisal the provincial government's determination earlier this twelvemonth to extremity its moratorium connected ember mining.

In an exertion for judicial reappraisal filed this week, Siksika Nation says Alberta failed successful its work to consult erstwhile successful January it lifted its moratorium connected caller ember mining projects connected the eastbound slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

Siksika Nation, 95 kilometres eastbound of Calgary, says the effects of ember mining successful the Rockies endanger pact rights and the onshore that supports its livelihood.

Samuel Crowfoot, a Siksika Nation councillor, told CBC News that "the main nonsubjective of this filing is to support the onshore that has ever been nether the stewardship of the Siksika Nation and the remainder of the Blackfoot Confederacy."

"These lands aren't conscionable opportunities for economical development. Yes, that's portion of it, but there's truthful overmuch much than that. These lands are connected to our culture, to our identity."

Clayton Leonard, elder counsel, identified the Crowsnest Pass portion and Elk Valley as areas of peculiar concern.

"The Elk Valley's decimated," helium said. "It's not the location to bighorn sheep anymore. You can't ... portion the h2o from the Fording River... that seems to beryllium Alberta's imaginativeness for the eastbound slopes of the Rocky Mountains."

"We've seen them portion excavation and wide cutting and each that stuff. Once it's done, it's done. And past they permission and they spell backmost to their homes and past we person to stay and unrecorded with that," Crowfoot added.

It's the 2nd clip Siksika Nation has challenged a United Conservative Party government's ember mining decisions.

When Alberta lifted its long-standing ember argumentation successful 2020, Siksika challenged the determination successful court, but proceedings were discontinued the pursuing twelvemonth erstwhile nationalist outrage spurred the state to reinstate the policy.

That argumentation flip-flop prompted ember companies to writer Alberta for a combined $16 billion, arguing that the reinstatement and effectual moratorium amounted to expropriation of land.

The state precocious reached settlements with 2 companies progressive successful the suit for undisclosed amounts.

Energy Minister Brian Jean's bureau didn't instantly respond to a petition for comment